Book 2: Echoes
by Jason22274
Summary: After graduating from the best school in Remnant with high honors, life should have been perfect for RWBY, and it is. On the surface at least. Several forces are working to change that however as a network of hate, greed, obsession, vengeance, and blackmail spin a web around our heroines.
1. Eternal

_Author's notes: Differences on this AU from the actual canon: I started writing this after season 2 and before any hints of season 3 were released, so many characters that were only mentioned until then are OC's and will not have any resemblance to what they will be like in the show. Example: Winter is Weiss's younger sister, not older, in my AU. The main story line of the show ended at the end of their first year. Life has mostly been normal since then with the exception of a major incursion of Grimm in the summer between third and fourth year which was successfully driven off (Short story on that to come when I have time) I've also made their weapons much more important to the use of Aura, so small things like Ruby finding out that Jaune hadn't made his never happened. Jaune also now sports a new weapon because of this. See "the bond" in one shots on more about that. Otherwise it's pretty much the world you know._

 _This is the second book in the series (obviously), but I'm trying to write it in such a way that it doesn't require the reader to have read the first book to understand what is going on in the second._

* * *

 **Eternal**

Damn her! Winter crumbled up the invitation and threw it into the trash, seething. Ten years! Ten years she'd worked to get everything she was deserved, and she'd finally gotten it! Or so she thought.

She finally had her father's undivided attention, and her bitch of a sister was out on her ass as she should have been to start with. If she'd had her way Winter knew Weiss would ruin their company with her righteous set of morals interfering with how a business was properly run.

It was obvious that Winter deserved to be the only heiress. She'd been working to undercut her sister's ties with their father from the moment she realized that, and truly learning to hate her as their father resisted her machinations.

It was her damned voice! That last shred of usefulness to him. She'd dropped just the barest of hints why it was useful to Weiss one time. She'd been right. The bitch refused to sing after. And yet still her father hung on!

She knew that Weiss had felt the strain on the relationship Winter was cultivating since mom had died. When she became old enough to do so her sister started training, using private instructors, to become a huntress. She clearly wanted to be as far away as possible. Winter hoped she'd die in the field if she graduated. That would accomplish all her goals.

Then last year the final irony happened as Weiss herself ended it in spectacular fashion! Oh, she'd been watching secretly when she first heard the argument start. As Winter expected it was about her misplaced morals, and her love for their sub-human workers. Then she had the audacity to slap her father! His next statement was like music to her ears; sweeter than any song from her sister's overrated lips.

Weiss was ruined. She was nothing, just a shell of a person with no possibilities. She may act like she was okay with that lower class work, but Winter knew. She knew that without her name, her money, and her prestige she would crumble in despair. How else could it be?

That day had been the best day of her life.

Then one day it was official. Father changed his will to place Winter as the heir. Right afterwards he signed the paperwork that would nullify any rights Weiss may have had with the Schnee name.

She imagined what it must have been like when Weiss accepted her diploma, devoid of a last name like some abandoned orphan. What was that tattoo called? Oh, an Emblem. What would she do for that now? If it was accurate it should say loser. Oh, how she laughed at the thought!

Then she got that... that thing! It was like Weiss knew all along what Winter was doing, and though she'd lost she still had to slap Winter in the face, telling her that she'd failed. She was going to be happy with some low life commoner. What was worse is it wasn't just her happiness; she was getting married to a girl to do it! Ruby was ruining Winter's victory maliciously.

She hated them! She hated them both!

* * *

"My little sister is finally getting married!" Yang cheered. "Two years of waiting for you two to get it on followed by thirteen months of nauseating romance and now we're here!"

"Uhg... You're more excited than I am."

Her sister's grin was infectious, and Ruby had to admit that in reality her own excitement was far beyond what Yang was demonstrating. It was just tempered by annoyance at her betrothed who had gotten very secretive. It wasn't that she was distant, which in itself was odd. Weiss was acting as if the world had become nothing but roses (no pun intended) (no, really!). She still was sarcastic, but it was all good natured now, and obviously so. She had developed that mode when it was just the two of them, but now it was with anyone.

Ruby could attribute all of it to the wedding, and odds are she was right, but the quiet little discussions with Yang that suddenly stopped as soon as Ruby approached were getting outright annoying. "You two are planning something, and I know it's about the wedding," Ruby said with a glare.

If a halo could magically pop up over Yang's head it would have. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Her sister smiled. "Speaking of plans though, have you picked out your tux yet?"

In most ceremonies it was a given who wore what. With lesbians it was a bit more free form. Sometimes one wore the tux and the other the dress, sometimes both wore a dress. Heck, sometimes both wore tuxedos. It was just a matter of preference. After only a brief talk they had decided that Ruby would wear the pants, so to speak, and Weiss would take the dress. Now every time Ruby came back with what she thought was perfect either Yang or Weiss would find some little detail that was off about it.

The day had to be perfect; Ruby knew that, but really? "It's being altered to fit. I picked the most expensive seamstresses in Vale, so it will be flawless so you two won't reject it yet again!"

"That's good. I would hate for it not to be done in time." This had been the biggest reason to shoo her off when the two conspirators wanted her away. Ruby was bound and determined to stop that in its tracks, but failing at every turn.

"Gah!" Ruby yelled in frustration.

* * *

Weiss looked over the paper in front of her, scratching out words, putting in new ones, and growing more frustrated by the second. This had to be perfect. She'd been working on it for two months now and yet it just didn't look right.

Ruby was accepting the normal way of doing things. A happy groom accepting her blushing bride as she walked down the aisle. Happy faces in all the pews, a few crying in shared joy. It's just how it was done. Weiss wasn't going to disillusion Ruby, but she had other ideas.

She knew Yang was approaching from behind by her low laugh. "Oh, she's getting so frustrated with us. If we keep her in the dark much longer she may kill us in our sleep. Considering where she sleeps I'd be careful if I were you."

"Hmmph. She wouldn't dare." Weiss cracked one of her rare but suddenly common smiles. "So, has it come in yet?"

Yang let out an answering smile, with interest. "Just in from Vacuo. I already have it set at the end of the aisle. She's going to flip."

"Good, now I just need to finish this."

Looking over her shoulder Yang read it to herself. "Looks done to me."

"Well it is done, obviously, but it needs improved on," Weiss said with some actual annoyance, all of it directed at the paper in front of her. "It just doesn't scan right."

A low chuckle escaped Yang's lips. "You're just nervous. Relax; it's going to be great."

"I'll be sure to tell you that when you decide on a guy," she bit.

This time the chuckle was much deeper. "Yeah, that's not going to happen."

"I don't know how you lead them around by the nose like that," the White Bride observed. "Sooner or later they're going to get sick of it."

Yang struck a pose. "With all of this?"

"Especially with all of that!" Weiss exclaimed.

With a shake of her head that clearly said 'if you only knew' Yang said "let me worry about it. You have enough on your plate."

Now that was too true. "I'm going to go see it. Keep Ruby occupied for a half hour or so."

"Yeah, that'll be easy," Yang said with obvious sarcasm.

* * *

Yang waited behind the doors that would bring her and Ruby out to the fabled aisle. Today was the day and everything had gone perfectly. By her calculations Ruby should be here any moment thinking that the ceremony would start in about fifteen minutes.

It wasn't. It was going to start the moment that Ruby showed up. It was an unconventional relationship, so this was going to be an unconventional wedding. There was already confusion among the guests. Weiss, bedecked in her wedding dress, was already waiting at the altar with her bride's maids where the groomsmen should be. Yang was supposed to be among those brides' maids, as far as Ruby knew at least.

Ruby entered looking resplendent in her tuxedo, her hair actually tamed for this day. Behind her came the groomsmen; Jaune, Ren, Sun, Neptune, Coco, and Fox. "What's going on?" Ruby asked anxiously as she looked around wildly.

No answer was given as Yang stuck her head out and nodded once, then pulled back in. "Something special," she answered at last. Not that that helped any. It was her wedding day. By definition everything was special.

Weiss's voice rose, singing two lines without accompaniment.

"Mirror, tell me something,  
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?"

The guests were instantly uncomfortable, and Ruby's confused expression went up twenty degrees. This was not a song appropriate to a wedding.

The orchestra started, adding its strength to Weiss's vocals, not that her voice needed it. Anyone familiar with this song would know that the notes were the same, but the tempo was not. It was slow, gentle, much like the wedding march. No, the beat was slower, conveying the sadness the song represented.

"Mirror, tell me something,  
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?  
Fear of what's inside me,  
Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?"

At this point the pace would normally slow for a moment for an operatic overture, then return to a feverish pace as the final verse was released. Instead it held even with the previous and continued without interruption. Normally haunting despite the beet, this only served to deepen the feeling of sadness.

Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?  
Save me from the things I see!  
I can keep it from the world,  
Why won't you let me hide from me?"

Ruby was starting to get fidgety. Yang had mercy on her and allowed her to poke her head around the door. What she would see was Weiss, staring into an intricately designed silver mirror. The mirror had been special made for this event and would have a place of honor in the new couple's house. The frame was filled with flowers and snowflakes intertwined with a knot work design.

Weiss's face would be like ice; cold, distant, and devoid of hope. It was the face she had they day the two met, not the face of someone on the happiest day of her life. "What's going on?" Ruby asked again, now really worried.

Weiss hadn't sung publicly in seven years. The memory of the power of her voice was long since forgotten by most. Yang knew she sang to Ruby regularly, but even she hadn't heard her full range. Intimate settings didn't allow for what was coming as Weiss opened up a beautiful operatic run, its power echoing off the church's walls. After tonight's performance it would take another decade to have the memory fade. Her voice had been world class when untouched by her heart. Now it was unparalleled. The sound of the overture was filled with a sad melancholy, but by the time it ended it held a hint of hope, of joy.

"Let's go," Yang announced.

The groomsmen had lined up behind Ruby quietly so as not to alert her, then Yang looped Ruby's arm through hers and started them down the aisle as the last note of the run left Weiss's throat. The tempo had increased subtly, now matching the pace of the traditional march.

"Mirror, tell me something,  
Tell me who's the luckiest of all?  
Hope for what's inside me,  
Tell me can this stone begin to beat?"

Ruby was catching on quickly. Under her breath she whispered "so this is the secret?" Yang didn't change her expression at all, just basking in the joy of giving her own sister away in her father's stead. It was the first joy she'd felt thinking of dad since his passing.

Weiss had changed her position subtly, now with her back partially towards the aisle, but Yang could see her reflection in the mirror and her eyes were on only one person. Her cold expression was thawing and her happiness was showing through, just as it was showing in her voice.

Yang was the only one to have heard this version of the song before today. It had been a great honor, and Yang knew it. Weiss had only sung for Ruby since she had regained that portion of her life. Those times were special to her. The one way she was sure she was truly showing every shade of her emotions to Ruby.

That wasn't true, of course. When those two sat together, which was as often as possible, it was impossible not to notice their bond.

But perception was everything, and on this day she wanted to show the world, and do it in spectacular fashion. Well, she was accomplishing that! Really this wasn't much different than tradition. Take out the singing and replace it with the wedding march, put Ruby in the dress and Weiss in the tux, and there you go.

Yeah, right. This was going to be scandalous and those two were going to get teased for months by their friends. Yang couldn't wait!

"Mirror, mirror, who's behind me?  
Help me get the one I see!  
I have kept it from the world,  
Why did you let me hide from me?"

Another operatic overture began, starting with the hope the last one had ended in, and building until Yang let go of Ruby and allowed her to take her spot beside Weiss. The music had gotten to her, so she would have been amazed if Ruby hadn't been put to tears. She wasn't let down. The speed of the final two verses reached the peak of the original, and it brimmed with pure joy bordering on ecstasy.

Yang had taken her spot among the groomsmen and looked over the crowd. She was unsurprised by the attendees faces. They too were entranced by the song, dumbstruck by its raw presentation of emotion.

What did surprise her was a single person sitting in the section reserved for the bride's family. Yang hadn't expected any to show, though against Ruby's objections Weiss had invited them all. Perhaps this meant the relationship between Weiss and Winter could be patched up? Yang sincerely hoped so, but didn't trust it. She'd never had a favorable impression of Winter. To be blunt, Yang thought she was a bitch.

She shied away from those unpleasant thoughts though, in favor of listening to the ending of the song. It was her favorite part.

"Mirror, tell me something,  
Tell me who's the happiest of all?  
Joy is what's inside me,  
Tell me can a heart be made to burn?"

Weiss turned slightly so she could look at Ruby directly for the first time.

"Mirror, mirror, who's beside me?  
Thank you for the one I see!  
I won't keep it from the world,  
My heart is now forever free!

Mirror, mirror, tell me something,  
Who's the most loved of all?"

A slight pause, then the last line, sang directly to Ruby with all the strength of her heart and with all the gentleness of a dove.

"I'm the most loved of all."

The last line held in the air, so sweet and soft. The look in Ruby's eyes was all the proof that Yang needed that the effort to keep this secret from her had been worth it.

The guests were in hushed awe, as was the wedding party itself. They had all known there was a plan; none had heard what Weiss was preparing beyond their part in it. That way if someone let it slip (cough, cough, Nora, cough, cough) they could only give away the part they knew.

Weiss had accomplished her goal. She always did when she set her mind to it.

Presiding over the ceremony it was upon Ozpin to break the silence. When asked by the couple to perform this sacred role the usually stoic headmaster had looked uncharacteristically touched. "That was very beautiful Weiss, if unorthodox. I do not believe there will be any who will doubt the strength of your vows. Ruby, do you have anything to add?"

Yang knew she had prepared vows of her own. She had worked on them for hours, practiced them in front of a mirror to get them just right so Weiss knew how deep her love went. All that Ruby said though was "I will never let you fall," trying to wipe away the tears that was smearing her makeup.

Ozpin smiled, and finished the ceremony without dramatics. There was nothing that could top what had already been seen and heard. "Weiss, do you take Ruby to love and to hold, in sickness and health, in times of battle and of peace, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

He turned his attention to Ruby. "And do you Ruby take Weiss to love and to hold, in sickness and health, in times of battle and of peace, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I- I do," she swore, choked by tears.

Rings were not traditionally worn by Huntsmen and Huntresses. They were too easily broken or lost when in the field. Instead their vows were symbolized by a bracelet chosen by the couple. Both had chosen one that was a simple unadorned white gold, hinged and latched so they would always stay in place without hindering movement. These bracelets were still called rings, and had much the same look if a tad larger.

"Weiss place the ring upon Ruby's wrist and repeat after me," Ozpin intoned. "With this ring I thee wed."

There was no doubt in Weiss's eyes, and though she was obviously emotional her voice was steady. "With this ring I thee wed."

"Ruby place the ring upon Weiss's wrist and repeat after me," the headmaster continued. "With this ring I thee wed."

Ruby wasn't nearly as composed. She fumbled with the bracelet several times, her emotions overwhelming her. Finally though it was in place and latched. "With this ring I thee wed," she vowed, unable to stop the tears from growing.

"I now pronounce you Ruby and Weiss Rose." The Headmaster looked at Ruby. "You may kiss your bride."

The cheering deafened any other words that might have been said, but no words were needed. Not with that kiss.

* * *

Bitch!

Winter had to go, had to see with her own eyes. Surely it was a lie! Weiss's wedding was a sham. It was a desperate plea for attention. What else could it be?

That wasn't what she saw though. Weiss had even sung! Winter knew how her sister's voice had sounded. What she heard today put that to shame and left no doubt that their love was real.

Well, if she was worried that Weiss and father could ever patch up their relationship, she didn't need to any longer. His ego and bigotry would never accept a gay daughter. That wasn't the point though.

In a building filled with love and happiness, one spot of unbridled hate burned brightly.

* * *

 _Author's notes: Winter is obviously an OC and completely unrelated to her canon counterpart. I don't think the Winter who will be introduced in season 3 will have any resemblance to her. I did this to put some distance between my AU and the original, and I also think this version will be an interesting antagonist. She's deeper than she seems. She is one year younger than Weiss in my AU, and as you can tell a complete bitch. Feel free to hate her. She is a product of her environment and takes after her dad where Weiss takes after their mother._

 _I'm doing a lot of studying currently, so chapters will be coming slower than Senior Year._

 _The wedding was originally its own short story meant to be between book 1 and book 2, and the original can still be found in One Shots. I had a bit of inspiration though, so it got pulled in as it sets the stage for what is to come nicely. This is a bit less subtle than I normally play things, but where the enemy was a mystery in book 1 most of them are going to be known from the start this time around. (That doesn't mean I'm going to be any easier on the cliff hangers)_

 _One Shots, story 4: The QEST is recommended reading. It doesn't apply to this chapter, but it gives some background for the future ones._

 _A guest review (Thank you!) stated he usually didn't think that lyrics included in a story usually worked, and I have to agree. Probably for different reasons but I find it breaks up the flow, and rarely is anything good or something I can picture listening to. I debated not including mine, and in fact removed the ones I put in Book 1: Fallen because of this a while ago. I'm still not sure what I think about including them here. I think I managed to pull it off, but not entirely sure. I would love to hear it performed by Casey as I have it in my head. *shrug*_

 _Revision 10/14: The guest review prompted me to add why the ceremony was the way it was. There really was a good reason for it, at least to Weiss there was. It's a couple of short paragraphs that are added just after the first verse that isn't part of the original lyrics._

 _Revision 02/19/16: Updated so Winter's casual use of "dad" is not present. It does not match the personality I had envisioned for this OC._


	2. Burning Feathers

Ah, the weekly business meeting. It had taken four years of trial and error, but eventually they found a balance of keeping everyone informed without wasting time. Part of the adjustment came as Phoenix grew in members in the last three years. When they were relatively small they could get away with monthly meetings. By the time Ruby and Weiss got married it was once every two weeks. Three years after that they were up to weekly meetings as a group, and nearly daily on an individual basis.

They were still informal, as they had been from the start. Blake thought they were about half done with this one as they sat and talked; occasionally laughing at a joke. Sometimes those laughs were forced to break tension over a touchy subject, but usually they were with good humor.

Blake shook her head again; suppressing a laugh at what she was hoping was a joke. "Whose idea was this again?"

Thompson wasn't suppressing anything as he chuckled. "No one will admit to starting it, but it's been done and no one's inclined to change it." He was still in charge of the Defense Wing, the protectors of businesses and individuals from protection racquets and other forms of sabotage. He had proven remarkably adept at it, and his dedication was one of the things that Blake respected the most about him.

Okay, so this wasn't a joke she realized, even if it was amusing. Well, just because she's the leader of Phoenix doesn't mean she had complete control. This addition had its uses she decided. It might have a unifying effect. That should be encouraged. "Feathers it is then." Why they wanted to call themselves feathers she couldn't quite grasp.

"There is another thing..," Daniel, interjected.

More? This was going to be good. At least she hoped it was going to be good. She had worked hard to make sure that each member felt they could be heard. She didn't expect this backlash though. "And that is?"

Daniel could really stretch out a conversation. That was the nice way to put it anyways. "It's how they're greeting each other..."

She waited a few seconds for him to finish the statement. When that didn't happen she looked back at Thompson. "How?"

Her Defense chief replied "burn brightly," with even more amusement than before.

Huh? "Burn brightly?" she asked incredulously.

Joining the conversation, Alice spoke up. "Well, it does make sense. This is Phoenix, and phoenixes burn."

Blake shot an accusatory look at the leader of her spy network. "You had no idea this was happening?" Not likely. Alice was, if anything, better at her job than Thompson was. Technically it wasn't her job to keep tabs on what was going on within Phoenix, but she did it anyways. She only reported on those findings directly to Blake however. As she put it, 'Spies infiltrate. It's what they do. If someone isn't looking for them they'll do it to Phoenix as well. I'm black ops. If I get caught you have deniability and I'll happily take the fall. You can hate it, but it's necessary.'

Oh and how Blake hated it! She wanted to believe the best in every member of Phoenix from the six leaders to the newest 'feather.'

 _Okay, I have to admit, I'm going to like that term once I get used to it._

The master thief did her best to look innocent, which in itself was admitting her guilt. "Not a clue."

As good as she was at ferreting out secrets, she was better at spreading information. "I'm betting you started it."

Cracking a smile Alice said "Why would I do that?"

Sigh. "Any other surprises I should know about?"

"Don't forget about your two o'clock tomorrow," Simon reminded her, not that she needed or wanted it. As leader there were things she had to do, no matter how much she dreaded it.

She wished she could forget about this one. "Yes, my interview with Teresa and Friends."

Simon shook his head. He'd been a part of Phoenix since the day it started three years ago. It was long enough for him to know her feelings on such things. "Interview is too strong of a word. It's only a talk show. Mingle, schmooze. They'll only talk about Phoenix at the end once the audience is comfortable with you."

"I get it. It's not them becoming comfortable with me that I have the problem with."

Simon chuckled. "It's you being comfortable with them. I know. If I could arrange for a talk show without a live audience I would have." He became more serious. "You made me leader of Public Relations, and this is necessary." That wasn't entirely accurate. He'd been at least partially voted into the role, but that wasn't worth arguing about at this exact moment. "You run Phoenix, so by definition you are its face. I'm going to make the most out of that. The fact you are a huntress only adds credibility to what you say. I made sure Teresa was going to stress that point."

There were mixed feelings there. She was still proud to be a huntress, and she continued to work out daily to keep her edge, but she wasn't employed as one. Using that title felt like a lie.

Outwardly she simply shrugged. "I'll be there." She moved on to another subject quickly, hoping to leave the tension she felt from the last behind. "You already told me yesterday, but let the others know about Yang's little project."

She was still adamant that all leaders were aware of what the other wings were up to. It had been a good arrangement. Quite often a project could be augmented with the help of another wing. At the very least they weren't getting in each other's way and trusted each other. With a wing like black ops trust was something that could be destroyed quickly. She couldn't have that.

With a wide smile he was more than happy to tell about the success of Yang's show. "Grimm Hunter's numbers have been high enough that it's been renewed for season four and five. From the latest polls it seems that Yang has managed to maintain her popularity while still being viewed as uh... loose and uncouth." Blake smiled. Leave it to a PR exec to try being politically correct.

"In other words, people think she can be a bit of a bitch and a complete slut," Alice supplied. Leave it to a street wise thief to cut through BS.

Simon smiled. "Yes, that would be accurate. As a result her boyfriend Jerry has gotten the fan-fair we were hoping for. I'd say about fifty percent of his fan mail is marriage proposals saying something along the lines of 'you deserve better, I can make you happy.'"

Isaac spoke up for the first time since his report earlier about the last rally his wing had run. "How many of those letters are from humans though?"

Valid question and one Blake hadn't thought of asking earlier. It was further proof that these meetings helped each wing and herself work better. "Hmmmm..." Simon sat for a second thinking then estimated "roughly thirty percent. Higher than I had expected at this point in the show's progression."

"This has to be hard on Yang," Daniel commented. "I've met her a few times. She's spunky, but certainly not what the media is portraying her as. She's very likable."

Yang bothered by public opinion was an amusing thought. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much," Blake supplied. "She's basking in the spotlight, trust me. She doesn't care what people think of her, just that they are thinking of her at all."

"And it's that likability that makes her work," Simon continued. "People may not like what she does, but they do like her. It leaves the viewers conflicted and transfixed." It also meant that her faunus boyfriend was getting some favorable views as well. That was one of the reasons this was important to Phoenix. Then there's the other reason.

Blake turned her attention to Jenny, their Exchequer. "And how is this affecting our finances?" Again, she already knew but the rest needed to be let in on the loop.

Jenny cleared her throat, then looked at her scroll to find the numbers. "Ms. Long is funneling the majority of her income into our coffers as everyone knows. Last season she granted us approximately one hundred and forty five thousand credits in revenue. We have ear marked all of those earnings for JNPR and Ruby and Weiss's expeditions. Neither of them are in any danger of running low on funds. The next two seasons are going to increase that revenue by fifteen percent. I think it would be safe to move the extra earnings to the general funds."

"I don't see any reason not to. Anyone have any thoughts?" Blake asked.

Daniel had something to add. Of all of the leaders, he was the one who had matured the most in his position. He had little understanding of finances and business at the start, and little confidence to go with it. Weiss had worked with him however. Soon he proved quite adept at manipulating the flow of commerce to put stress on the businesses prejudiced against faunus. He was even better at teaching faunus to run their businesses to compete and attract human customers.

"Could those be ear-marked for my wing instead? Whicker Mining is trying to counter our efforts. They're large enough that we haven't really chipped into their profits, and they're throwing money at the smaller companies to counter the proceeds they're losing from our efforts." Blake reflected that a year ago Daniel wouldn't have asked that in the meeting. It would have been asked afterwards just between the two of them. Definitely an improvement.

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Okay, it's yours. Anything else?"

Looking up Alice responded "I guess it's my turn. I got a report from JNPR this morning."

Blake was instantly captivated. Their mission officially fell under Alice's wing, so that's where the official reports went first. She still got personal letters of course, but they were all of the "We're fine, don't worry about us," variety. The official reports had to be accurate and she was eager to hear the real story.

The reports came in monthly. Longer if they were outside of Vale for a prolonged amount of time where they couldn't be sent. It had been six months. Blake was nearly crawling out of her skin with worry, and with guilt that she was the one responsible if things had turned deadly.

She was pretty sure she was going to kill them herself if they were back in town and hadn't called her first!

"They're about four days east of Vale by bullhead currently," Alice continued. She was holding her voice even, but there was something there... Something she was hiding.

Four days east? That was quiet a distance. "How did they get a report in?" Blake asked automatically, not letting the fear that had started invade until she knew what was going on.

"They found an old SDC mining town where they found an a mostly intact communication tower. They managed to get it working well enough to get a signal to another facility, who then sent the rest to us."

That had to be Ren's doing. Of the four he was the most mechanically inclined. Clever and lucky are an unstoppable combination. "Then we can't be sure how edited the report is, can we?" The fear eased up some. Maybe all she was hearing from Alice was the nerves of a half completed report."

"The report is very detailed, but most of it made no sense for why they were actually out there. It's obviously a smoke screen for any other ears out there."

She had already figured out that was the case. "So what information did you get reading between the lines?"

"They want a bullhead out to their position asap. He said its because Summer was injured." A sarcastic grin spread across her face, trying desperately to hide her unease. "Given that there is no Summer in their party, it's safe to say there is another reason for that."

Blake's stomach bottomed out. "Send out a Bullhead to get them now," Blake said, a feeling of panic nearly overwhelming her. She refused to let it show, and nearly four years of practice allowed the mask to set into place perfectly.

"I did it within minutes of getting the report. CFVY is on their way," Alice said instantly.

These days CFVY was short one member. As her second Velvet couldn't put herself in obvious danger. If Blake for some reason died she needed to be available to step in. Coco and the rest of her team would be enough for something as simple as an extraction though.

She looked over the faces looking at her. Though they couldn't see the panic when she first heard the news, they did see how quickly she ordered for the bullhead. They knew something was up.

Not that she could hide what she knew. That would go against the very purpose of these meetings. "Summer was Ruby's mother. She died a long time ago. Their situation could be very bad if they're using that name." All five faces nodded their understanding, worry crossing each.

There was nothing she could do. She felt sick, as memories of a similar situation years ago raised their heads. Memories of Weiss and Ruby going missing and Blake choosing to stay with Phoenix in a key moment rather than searching for her friends.

From that she had learned to accept that as leader she had to prioritize without allowing personal feelings effect her decisions. Her personal feelings said she should be on that bullhead right now, and she wanted to rip Alice's head off for not telling her sooner.

She knew that Alice had handled the situation correctly, and as leader of the black wing it didn't need to go instantly to her. Each wing worked autominously with her only directing. She would only undermine, maybe even destroy, their authority if she insisted every problem be brought to her for approval.

That didn't mean she couldn't ask for special reports on specific items. "Next time you receive a troubling report like this from JNPR, or Ruby and Weiss, please let me know after you've done whatever you can. I don't care about the hour." Maybe a tad bit of anger was warranted. That should have been a given, regardless of responsibilities.

Something in her voice must have leaked through judging by Alice's expression. "Of course."

"Did you get anything else out of the report?"

"Nothing for sure. He said they were looking around the facility while they were trapped there," she paused for a second, looking Blake directly in the eye. "Those were his exact words. It could have been said without it being literal, but it might not. That's it though. Everything else didn't make any sense for what they're out there for."

Until she heard from them again she knew she wasn't going to be getting much sleep. "Thank you."

She refused to let any of her fear show. Even those she worked the closest with were not allowed to see behind her mask of control and confidence. Doing so would only undermine their own confidence.

She looked over each of the leaders of Phoenix's wings, and smiled. "Anything else?"

Everyone shook their heads. "Alright. I'll be briefing Velvet then preparing for the show tomorrow if anyone needs me."

She started to turn around when all of them said "burn brightly!"

She would have been amused, deciding they had all been in on the new greeting, if not for the dark clouds she saw towards the east and her friends.

* * *

Blake reached to pore another scotch, and found the bottle empty. She reached instead for a second bottle. She knew she shouldn't, but she needed something to relax her. The weekly meetings were harder on her than she let on. Even when they didn't involve her friends in life and death situations, they always involved hard decisions. Decisions that likely had no direct effect on her, but would dictate the lives of thousands of faunus for generations to come. Sure, she delegated the responsibility, but in the end it was all on her.

Todays had been the worst so far. Far worse.

"There are better ways to kill brain cells," a rough voice came from behind her.

She shouldn't be doing this either. "Brute's have no right to talk about brain cells." She had grown a high tolerance to alcohol over the years. Though she was delightfully buzzed and nearing wasted, she still sounded like herself.

Thompson laughed, trying to drain the room of some of its depressed tension. "Don't worry, no one saw me come in," he said to the first worry that hit her every time he showed. "They couldn't see it, but I know how hard hearing about JNPR was on you. You don't think I could leave you to your own devices?" He looked directly at the first empty bottle.

She'd felt it the day they'd met. She'd been so focused on her mission she'd ignored it as a passing fancy. It wouldn't be the first one. Then he went missing. When she saw him alive the relief was enough to stop her mid step in the middle of a war zone. It was an attraction built from mutual respect and rutting lust. For all of his gruff exterior Thompson could be remarkably gentle when needed; like right now.

"You should," Blake replied, though her heart wasn't in the rebuttal. "What you have in mind isn't what good leaders do."

Another of his laughs. She loved hearing them. They were somehow reassuring that everything would work out, even when she was barely holding back the tears. "You have been adamant that we don't act like an army, so why do you have this army mindset about fraternization among the ranks? You do realize how many of our members are dating right? Why us then?"

He was trying to distract her from herself. She knew it, and she needed it. The alcohol wasn't doing it that night."Because we aren't simply members. We're leaders. We can't let them have any impression of favoritism. Especially from me."

A smile crossed his face more felt than seen. "Yeah, don't think I didn't figure out that's why you had everyone vote on who led the wings. If it will make it any easier I'll let my second take my place and become a foot soldier."

What touched her the most is knowing he would for her in a second. It was enough to break through her fears finally, feeling the warmth of his presence at last.

But he was too good at what he did. Phoenix needed him where he was. Even if that wasn't the case she couldn't ask him to resign from a position he loved simply for her. Her mind worked on that problem viciously, trying to use it in a way that prevented her other thoughts from returning.

"I see the gears working kitten. Let's not do this right now. I came to comfort you, not upset you. Let me do it." Little did he know how well he had already comforted her.

She felt his hands start to massage the back of her neck; his fingers finding the knots he had already known were going to be there. She leaned into it, subconsciously. Realizing she'd already given in she temporized o _ne more time can't hurt._

Not that much happened. She finally noticed the effects of the alcohol when she stood up, and nearly fell over as she stumbled forward. Thompson came forward and picked her up. She snuggled into it, and was unconscious before she reached the bedroom.

* * *

Blake's mood had improved in the morning, though she was still ever conscious of her friends in the back recesses of her consciousness.

"We just made it back home," Ruby's chipper voice said from a voice message the next morning. "Come over when you get the chance!"

She said it so casually. Like they hadn't been out in grimm infested woods for two months now, and were likely going to be going back out next week. Those two were insane. They had started only weeks after their wedding, not long enough for a proper honeymoon in Blake's opinion, and hadn't stopped since except for a week here and there. She was pretty sure they hadn't even finished decorating their house yet.

From Ruby she had expected it. She had too much of a paladin mindset to do otherwise. Weiss on the other hand had surprised her. She was normally so level headed and pragmatic. She would know that pressing themselves like this was going to wear them down. They needed time off to recharge their batteries, and to have time to themselves to renew their relationship.

If anything, Weiss was the worse of the two. Blake had the distinct impression that if Weiss could she wouldn't be back in Vale until every last facility that treated faunus worse than slaves was left with none of them. She had been that way since the first time they reached a SDC facility.

Blake shook her head, chagrined that she hadn't seen it coming. She knew how bad it was out there, from a statistical sense. She hadn't actually seen it with her own eyes. The statistics were bad enough however. Knowing that she was in any way attached to what she found had to have driven Weiss nearly insane. Blake recognized the signs of obsession from personal experience. She hoped Ruby did too.

 _Maybe I'll see if Daniel can't use Weiss's expertise._ As his mentor she was the first one he'd ask if there was. It might slow her down enough to get at least a bit of rest before going back out. _Even if he can't use her help, I'll make sure he understands that he does. That little snafu with Whicker Mining would work._

She never thought she'd miss the days of fighting off Roman and his cronies. Those had been simpler days.

"Get back to bed," she heard from her bedroom. Simple days with three other roommates to stop her from doing things she would regret in the morning. Well, she should be regretting them.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter has been highly edited as of 02/01/16 to fix continuity errors made in chapter 5. I really like this edited continuity better.


	3. Fame and Fortune

_I never thought I'd get tired of the spotlight,_ Yang reflected from her spot in the stretched SUV. It fit her public profile, though she didn't like it. Still, it did give Jerry and Jeff a chance to be by themselves. Those two needed it. If she was tired of the spotlight, Jerry was completely wilted. Jeff, short for Geophry, was perfect. While part of her entourage Jeff was only a background character as far as the world could see. That left him separate enough that Jerry could get away from the stresses that stardom caused.

Jeff was also kinda cute, which helped. Shame he wasn't interested in girls at all. Ah well.

The SUV was split into three sections, not that anyone could see that from the exterior. The front and back section is exactly what most would expect: the driver up front, the party in the back. The back was smaller than it looked like from outside however, to hide the space in the middle which contained a bed. That would be where the boys were having their fun. She envied them.

Sure, she had affairs all over Remnant now, but that's all they were: a device to drive her ratings and to help out Phoenix. There was no emotional attachment at all. It wasn't that Jerry wasn't great. Yang really did love him. He was unique from everyone she'd ever dated. Not a warrior, not even really a lover. He was grounded though and kept her from getting full of herself with all the publicity.

Meh. Sun would be laughing his ass off if he saw her. Last she'd heard he had found a girlfriend of his own. Nora had suggested that if she was really lucky he would find love elsewhere but want her as well. She wasn't that lucky, and his girlfriend was more predatory than Yang was. Well, that's life. You didn't win every battle.

Seeing Club Moonlight come up she knocked on the partition. "Okay lovebirds, we're almost there. Get dressed and prepare for our public."

* * *

Yang suppressed a growl, barely. _If I hear one more lame pickup line... I mean, I know they all think I'm a hot piece of ass and a slut, but do they have to do it five feet away from my boyfriend? Just because he can't hear it over the canned music doesn't make it any less insulting!_

"Really? I figured with my flames it'd be clear that I'm no angel. Think deeper," she replied to the over-dressed, under-intelligent sycophant in front of her, who was using one of the oldest, and worst, pickup lines ever devised. _Like this guy has any deep thoughts._

She took a quick look at Jeff. He was the one really in charge of the show. Simon's handpicked manager, and she was glad to have him. For all her bluster and confidence, she knew managing her publicity was more work than it's worth. And when she decided on who she was leaving with (And drop before he got to second base), she was happy she wasn't leaving Jerry without options.

Jeff smiled and nodded, which was what she'd been looking for. The night was finally over for her. Leaning into the fool she smiled her best seductive smile and whispered, "Want to see how us devils do it?" Then she turned with an inviting shake of her tail as she headed out the back doors. Theoretically those doors would be void of the paparazzi, but of course there would be one or two ready to take a scandalous picture or two.

The horny bastard almost beat her outside, and was all hands once they made it to the ally. The photographer was good, she gave him that. Without her aura giving her a sixth sense of being watched she might have missed him. _Well, let's give him his show. I'm going to need a bath tonight though, and it's not from the stench of the location._

Having an image to project, she wrapped herself around him like a python, and sank her teeth into his neck. With just the slightest of efforts she was able to push him back into a wall. She wasn't in a good mood though, and him having a good time wasn't on her list of objectives. She'd pegged this guy as the macho type that thought she just needed someone man enough for her and she'd become meek and subservient. She loved those types.

He tried to make a move to reassert his masculine dominance, and she stopped nibbling on his neck to whisper, with just the slightest hint of a growl to her voice, "simmer down and take it like a good boy. You don't want mamma to spank you, do you?"

That revved him up, and now he really was trying. He did stand an inch taller than her, but muscle for muscle (let alone skill) he never stood a chance. Grabbing the wrist of the arm attempting to take her top off, she threw him around into a hammerlock and forced his chest and face into the wall. Leaning in again she whispered "is that the best you got? Jerry's got more fight than that." Reaching down she grabbed his crotch and smirked. "That's not the only thing he's got more of."

That did it. She felt his excitement deflate beneath her fingers. "Damn, can't even keep it up? Get out of here."

She actually did feel bad for him. It wasn't his fault he believed what was on the news and her show. It's called 'reality' TV after all. That didn't mean she wanted to sleep with every clubber with a woody though. She'd never leave her bedroom if that was the case.

That's what she found the most enjoyable with dating Jerry. He wasn't presumptuous. He liked her aggressive side, and wasn't just into it for the sex, her stardom, or any of the other hooks. He was delightfully normal.

He was going to be delighted himself when she got back home. With a half turn to make sure the photographer got her good side, she left with a smile. De-stressing was definitely in order.

* * *

 _These aren't going to do,_ the photographer thought. _Everyone has seen pictures like this. It's not going to make me any money._

Briefly he thought about manufacturing photos, but he didn't want to risk the forgeries being spotted. That would blow up in his face in a big way.

 _Should I follow her? She blew him off pretty quick. I wonder if she's heading somewhere else juicier? Well, it couldn't hurt._

* * *

She sensed that the paparazzi hadn't had enough with her little alley scene. Well, she was a huntress, so fuck it. Turning a corner suddenly she wall jumped up to the roof of one building and waited for him to pass. _I wonder if it's within Jeff's plans for me to knock this guy out?_ She wasn't serious, of course. Beating up henchmen, goons and the occasional crime boss was fun, but a civilian was out.

This one was good. He didn't look at her as he passed beneath, but she knew he was aware of her. It piqued her interest. Skill had to be respected. She became as noticeable as the gravel she stood on and waited for his next move. That move turned out to be walking off, refusing to play the cat and mouse game.

It was almost disappointing, yet only made her more curious. She hoped this wouldn't be the last time they played this little game, maybe to a more satisfying conclusion.

* * *

As he'd expected from someone of her caliber she wasn't so easy to shadow, but it had been fun trying. This job may be for more than just the money. He did love a challenge.

* * *

Unaware to either of them a third person was playing their game. For him it was all business however. He'd been a spy for too long to get entrenched in fun, challenge, or curiosity that would blur the lines. It had earned him the nickname "Hawk," because of his focus, and the deadliness of his attacks when he chose to strike.

Councilman Ferris would be interested in this new wrinkle. Leaving the area before he might be accidentally spotted, he didn't stop until he was safely ensconced in his home. Picking up his scroll he called his employer. "Sir, her pawn is now in play."

"So she's finally making a move? Hmmmm... Not who I would think she'd be after. She is either more intelligent than I gave her credit for, or more insane."

Hawk listened and waited until his boss spoke again. He did not expect to hear his reasoning, just his next set of orders which he would obey. He was paid well for excellent work, and he made sure his performance was equal to that pay. "Muddy the water for the pawn and get close to her."

"Yes sir."

* * *

Jeff was more animated than usual. "Did you get a good look at him as he passed?"

"No, that's how I knew he'd spotted me. He was very careful to make sure I never got a clear view of anything but his hat." She paused for a second in thought. "I can say for sure it's none of my regulars though. His aura didn't feel anything like the rest of the paparazzi that chases me."

He shook his head then stared into space. "I don't think there are any new gossip reporters in town. He could be someone completely new, of course, but I don't think so. The new guys don't have the skill you're talking about. He's seasoned. However you've already interacted with all of the known locals. He's definitely a mystery."

From underneath her fingertips Jerry let out a contented sigh. "You give the best scalp massages," he complemented. "Do we know for sure he's a reporter?"

"Interesting thought," his male lover acknowledged. He paused Jerry's foot massage as he ran through the possibilities.

Stretched out on the couch between the two Jerry pouted slightly. "And my reward for an 'interesting thought' is losing my foot rub?"

Yang playfully stopped her massage to pop him in the back of his head. "Shush, your boyfriend's thinking."

"I thought you were supposed to be on my side? You're dating me, not him," he said with a smile.

Now Yang couldn't hold in the hearty laugh. "Yeah, keep thinking that." He sighed again and Yang just grinned down at him, but returned to massaging his scalp to either side of his goat horns.

The pause came to an end and Jeff said "Could be sabotage. Some of the competition trying to get something on you to reduce your ratings. The life you've been living causes all kinds of enemies who likewise would love to bring you down a few pegs." He looked down at Jerry. "Sorry lover, this means we need to cool our jets until we get a handle on this. If they find out you're as bad as she is you'll lose your fan base."

"So no more foot rubs?"

In stereo his lovers replied "Hedonist."

"I prefer to think I am being properly pampered," he sniffed playfully.

Yang chuckled, but under the surface she sighed. She loved Jerry, and these little moments where she and Jeff were in sync to take care of him really did feel wonderful. They were all she could want; knowing no matter what tomorrow brought he would never be alone. No matter how stressed she became both her boyfriend and his lover would be there to share the burden.

It was a mindset few could have or understand. Even Ruby still had trouble grasping how her independent bigger than life sister could share anything, let alone a man. Blake didn't openly despise it, but she had never grown comfortable with it. Out of consideration Yang didn't bring it up with her unless it was pertinent to the conversation, or outright unavoidable.

But again, she wondered if another love would ever be in the cards for her. It wasn't that she didn't think she was desirable and didn't have any possible suitors. She had enough backed up fan mail to keep her reading for the rest of her life to prove that. None of them would know the real her though. They'd know the persona, and that persona was a bitch. Would she really find any kind of romance in a guy who found that attractive? Hah!

She could risk breaking persona and letting someone see the real her, but that was ill-advised. One whisper in the wrong set of ears and the only scandal she couldn't afford would be all over not only the gossip rags, but all over the reputable news sources as well. Her career would be over, and more importantly the good press that Jerry was bringing faunus would end and possibly backfire. She couldn't do that to any of them.

And what was she complaining about? She still had more love than she had a right to ask for. "Well, while we wait to find out who our shadowy mystery man is, how about Pampered gets us some popcorn. I'm in the mood for a sappy romance."


	4. Falling

The house was depressingly empty still. The living room featured a couple of chairs, barely used, and the boxes from their days at Beacon. Their bedroom was a set of mattresses and an end table. The kitchen was bare. When they were in town their food was provided via take-out.

There was nothing else to the four bedroom house that Ruby had planned on making into a home for herself and Weiss. The room large enough to turn into a gym, their office, the guest bedroom for when their friends visited from out of town... They all were empty and had stayed that way for years now. If not for their cleaning service they'd be covered in dust.

"We can stay a month this time!" Ruby whined in a way she knew Weiss couldn't resist. "Blake won't mind, and we need to at least get a couch in the living room."

She thought it was a whine Weiss couldn't resist. She knew 'The Voice' wasn't doing the trick when Weiss looked back. "Do you think Blake has taken a day off since she started? She has a good reason not to, and so do I."

How could she slow Weiss down? Refusing to go back out wouldn't do it. She tried that a year ago and found their bed empty the next morning. The anxiety she felt for the following week had nearly killed her.

There was an answer somewhere though. She just needed to find it. "Okay, then I'm going to invite Blake over. I want to see people before we go back out, and you know she's been worried about us."

A planned intervention? No, that would be a bad idea. Weiss would dig her heals in out of pure stubbornness if they did that. Like she had said, Ruby simply needed to see their friend. It would help her decompress at least a small amount before they went back beyond Vale's walls.

"Don't think she's going to convince me to stay longer," Weiss said, confirming Ruby's belief on how an intervention would go.

At least she could be completely honest at her wife's accusation. That was good since Ruby couldn't lie to save her life. "No, I just miss socializing with something besides grimm." _And an obsessed wife,_ Ruby finished in her head.

Weiss snorted. Ruby thought Weiss believed her but wasn't happy at any distraction. Even the ones that didn't slow them down. "Maybe she'll have new information on other facilities," Ruby continued, hoping it would mollify Weiss.

"I'm not obsessed! Well, not obsessed beyond what's reasonable," Weiss responded to Ruby's unspoken thought, proving that the snort wasn't about the possible distraction. "Well, maybe a bit too much, but you have to admit I do have a good reason!" Even when at odds the two were too in tune with each other sometimes. It made hiding things impossible.

This was going to lead to an argument if Ruby wasn't careful. The week in town she had managed to get out of Weiss wasn't going to be wasted with negative distractions. "You are obsessed, and you do have reason," Ruby agreed placatingly. She decided to get a promise for the future instead. "But the next time Yang is in Vale we're going to stay in town at least a few weeks. I haven't seen her in almost a year now outside of my scroll."

Ruby put on her best stubborn face, which was a match for Weiss's. The only person she had ever loved accepted the compromise. "Okay." She didn't sound happy however. Ruby wasn't surprised.

Before Weiss had a chance to come up with another objection to her visit, Ruby pulled out her scroll and called Blake.

She kept her voice as happy as she could make it. "Hey Blake, it's Ruby," she started unnecessarily when she got Blake's voice mail. "Kinda tired so going to make the message short, but we just made it back home. Come over when you get the chance."

Hanging up she looked over at the most important person in her life. The one who was becoming more distant every time Ruby tried keeping her from an abyss Weiss couldn't see. The one she refused to see.

 _Please Blake, have some idea on how to help her,_ Ruby pleaded, despair soaking a bit deeper into her soul.

* * *

It was obvious. Even if she didn't know Ruby on nearly a spiritual level, Weiss would know the difference in their love making that night. There was a desperation and a depression about it. For the first time Weiss was unsatisfied when they went to sleep and was certain it had been the same for Ruby.

Of course Weiss knew why, and she wasn't angry at Ruby. Troubled would be a better word. It wasn't like she couldn't feel the strain on their relationship the hunt for SDC facilities was causing.

And there was no doubt, though Weiss hadn't said it out loud, that her father's company was the focus of her hunt. She had wanted to make the Schnee Dust Company a moral company again by taking over as the CEO. Getting disowned had made that impossible. Instead she was going to make them do the right thing by giving them no other options.

Each new facility, primarily mining, only reinforced her need. They were getting results too! Not all of it good unfortunately.

Some companies had responded by improving security, making the facilities safer for the faunus who worked there. The living conditions had also improved, making life more comfortable. At several facilities now they had found faunus content with their work and had no need to be saved. Some companies had even begun hiring humans once the conditions improved to a level that they would accept.

Then there was the other side; the companies leaving their facilities more open to attack from the grimm that surrounded them. They were recouping their losses by spending less money. They were as actively killing their faunus labor as putting a gun to their heads. She had a sickening feeling that some companies were literally doing it before the end of their contracts. It would save them from paying their bonus. Anything to save a copper.

Weiss's tunnel vision proved which side the SDC had fallen. How could she not be obsessed with that knowledge? How could she stop for even a moment? Obsession was getting results! Either her family's company was going to fall in line, or they were going to fall.

In her sleep Ruby rolled away, leaving the spooning position that she had started in. Weiss rolled a second later to face her lovers back, touching it tenderly with a single finger. _I know she's only worried about me. She thinks she's saving me from myself,_ Weiss thought, feeling her heart ache. _But she's wrong. I have to do this. If I don't see this through it'll eat at me until there's nothing left._

Her finger started drawing the pattern of Ruby's emblem, mimicking Ruby when they got engaged. Like then she felt their connection, their souls meeting in that single point of contact. How she loved this woman, who even in the darkest depths outside of Vale could smile with unrestrained joy.

This woman who hadn't smiled, truly smiled, in months. Weiss was killing Ruby's happiness. Killing the thing that Weiss loved the most about her. She wanted more than anything to bring that joy back.

The fact they weren't staying even a few extra days proved that was a lie. If Ruby's happiness was the most important thing she would give up, or at least slow down.

How could she help Ruby and still be true to herself? She had thought about leaving several times, and not come back until she was done. That wouldn't work. It wouldn't return Ruby's joy. It would destroy it, and her.

If she forced herself to stop Weiss feared her guilt would destroy her, and by extension destroy Ruby. Even slowing down felt unreasonable, remembering times when the destruction they found was only a few days old.

There were no other options that Weiss could see. She didn't stop tracing on her wife's back until sleep came for her, her thoughts looking for any compromise.

* * *

"I'm not going." Ruby said, leaving Weiss in a complete panic. This was familiar. It had happened years ago, but the pain was still the same. What was she going to do without Ruby at her side?

Though she argued her case, at one point yelling them and Ruby throwing them back at her, Weiss couldn't get Ruby to budge. The argument finished with Weiss yelling "if we wait more of them will die!" In all her time knowing Ruby she had never been angrier at her wife. How could Ruby, of all people, not understand?

Unable to come to terms, Weiss went to bed. Ruby fallowed, but there was no cuddling that night. Both hovered as close to the edge of their side of the bed as possible. It made it easier, in the end, for Weiss to get up and leave in the middle of the night.

Three days later Weiss was by herself looking at a facility devoid of life, the smell of blood still fresh in the air. She'd been too late. She could have gotten there faster if she hadn't been by herself. If she hadn't waited even the few hours it took for Ruby to fall asleep. She had been close.

Staggering backwards Weiss gagged at the smell. Her mind replayed every other failed attempt the two had made, finding a facility marked only by death. It never got easier. Out of a sense of misplaced anger she slaughtered the grimm that still inhabited the area, a few playing with portions of their victims like cat toys.

* * *

Weiss didn't wake up quickly. Not being a morning person, she never did. The dream faded away slowly, mixing with reality so for a few minutes she couldn't tell which was which. It started with her walking back to Vale, envisioning her wife's back with anger bordering on hatred. It ended when she finally came to the waking world, and she felt that hatred turn inwards knowing how she was twisting both of them up.

It had been a year since then, and to her perception only more death had been found with small pockets of success littering within. When would they win? When would she have her life back, contented to just be held by Ruby's loving arms?

The nightmare had to end, but if she stopped those deaths would visit her every night. She felt a bit of bile rise in her throat, burning the entire trip. She wasn't obsessed. She was desperate. Desperate of be done with this dark fate she had thrown herself into.

Ruby was awake of course, being a morning person, but she hadn't moved which was unusual for her. Gently she reached out to touch her wife's shoulder, needing at least some small comfort from her thoughts, fears, and guilt. A tightening of the back that shoulder was attached to made her hand fall away. There was no comfort there to be found.

The sound was a soft one, almost unheard. Ruby was crying. It had once been the rarest of sights. Pink unicorns were spotted more often. It had been. The memory, so fresh from her dream, of that past argument came to haunt her. Was her quest worth this?

Inching herself closer, she whispered in Ruby's ear "lets stay a bit longer. Maybe a month?"

Ruby shook her head violently, showing pain instead of relief at her words. "You were dreaming again... Talking... I heard you. Only bits and pieces. Not all of it made sense, but enough. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry I made you hate me." The tears were getting easier to hear, and her breathing was becoming labored.

Instantly Weiss had Ruby in her arms, hugging her close. "It was a dream, nothing more. How can I hate you? You're right. We need time off. A month will do us a lot of good."

"Liar."

The lie had been evident in her voice, and Weiss knew it. She didn't believe she needed that time. She would hate every day spent away. She had to be more honest or Ruby would never accept the offer. "You're right. I don't think I need the time off. I know you do though. I would hate myself if I hurt you any more than I already have."

Ruby's breathing eased up, though her tears had started dripping off her face and onto the arm Weiss was using to pillow her head. "Let's go find that couch you wanted to find when we get up."

A slight nod of the head was the only answer, but it was enough for now.

* * *

It was about eleven when Blake called, and Ruby answered with some of her old cheer restored. The smile on the other side of the screen told Ruby that her fake smile last night had been noticed, and Blake was happy to see the improvement.

Blake had changed slowly over the years. She had become comfortable with the informal business suits that Weiss had designed for her. Enjoyed might be a better word. She was rarely seen out of them now, and had become proficient at coming up with her own ensembles. Her hair had become more tamed as well, showing a sophistication that managed to be formal and casual at the same time. It suited her, and fit with her many roles as leader of Phoenix.

"I cleared my calendar for the evening," Blake was saying. "I'll need the time to relax after my interview anyways, and we need to talk."

"We need to talk" was perhaps the most feared four words in the spoken language, and the grim look on her friend's face said it was going to be a valid fear this time.

Ruby didn't press however. They would get to whatever subject she had in mind when they were face to face. "We're going furniture shopping this evening. Why don't you join us?"

"You mean you haven't even..." Blake's face registered shock. "Consider this an order from your boss. Take a couple of weeks off!"

Again that smile, though there was still a tinge of sadness around the edges. "We're taking a month!"

"Good." Blake paused for a second, composing herself. "I'll be at your door at about four. Sound good?"

Ruby nodded at the screen. "We'll be ready."

The time passed slowly for Ruby. She took care of the few mundanes that came with being out of town for a month. It included repairing, when possible, clothing and weapons, washing the rest, filling out reports for Alice on what they had been up to while out, and squashing her continued feeling of guilt.

In the end her and Weiss had been sitting with little to do but look at each other. Being together with no separation for over a month had left them nothing to talk about. Everything had already been said with nothing new to add. There was only one thing on the front of both of their minds, and it was something neither wanted to talk about.

When the door bell rang at three both jumped, surprised at Blake's early arrival. As far as Ruby could figure it, Blake should be finishing up with Teresa and friends. She had looked up the time of the show on her scroll. If they had a vid screen she would have loved to watch it. It was another in a long list of things they were getting today.

Heading to the door she found something else she should have known was coming: a yellow envelope. Where they came from, and how they managed to show up the day after they returned home, Ruby didn't know.

She knew and dreaded what was going to be inside the envelope: another tip on a corrupt business's barbaric activity outside of Vale, where the law didn't exist. She refused to look at the contents, and especially refused to let Weiss know they had gotten another one. All she would find were locations, reports, and, worst of all, pictures. They would anger Ruby and they'd drive Weiss to get back out in the field again.

They needed their time off! Looking at the envelope she knew exactly why Weiss wanted to be back out fighting. She felt it too. She could also accept that never stopping to rest was only going to get them killed. Then what good would they be to the ones they wanted to help?

Even though manipulating Weiss to stay longer hadn't been her intention, she felt guilty for doing it. That wasn't going to stop her from taking it. It could very well save her wife's life.

Quietly she hid the file in their mailbox by the front door. They would stay there until Ruby could hide it without Weiss knowing, there to stay for a month.

"Where's Blake?" Weiss asked.

While Ruby couldn't lie convincingly, she hoped she could tell the truth minus one detail. "She wasn't there. Not sure who it was, but they left before I got to the door."

It didn't fool Weiss. Not entirely at least. Ruby could tell and felt her nerves start to ratchet upwards seeing the doubt in her lover's eyes. Weiss let her off the hook however. "If you say so."

Ruby was saved from having to answer, and possibly incriminate herself, by a familiar voice from the door she accidentally left open. "You two really need to get an interior decorator," Blake commented, looking around the empty house. "I pay you enough to afford it."

* * *

 _Author's notes: Well, it's been a long time, but never fear! I hadn't given up or mothballed on this book, just got busy with another project (Original work I've been posting on Penana. com). I'm switching back to Echoes now, hopefully until completion. I got a bit burned out on writing my own stuff. Overthinking and self doubt was a large cause of that._

 _Enjoy, and as always thanks for taking the time to read my stories._


	5. The Journey

Their travels had been uneventful. Or at least as uneventful as traveling outside the city could be. JNPR had become masters at long trips with no respite. They were as close to completely self sufficient as possible.

It was good that the grimm only cared about humans, leaving the animal life alone. They could hunt for their own food, provide themselves water at riverbeds, and carried their tents with them when moving from one base camp to the next. There was very little they needed from Vale as a result. Mostly it was ammo and repaired armor and clothing that couldn't be accomplished in the field.

They weren't supposed to be out for more than a month at a time, but when they found a possible lead they followed it until they reached its conclusion. This trip had been one of those. They were six months in and still following the trail.

What they found two weeks out hadn't been any signs of reapers. Nothing physical at least. There were no tracks or markings. No sign of a trail. What they found instead was grimm, lots of grimm. They moved in packs, which was normal. They ignored the wildlife, which was normal. They ignored JNPR, which was _not_ normal.

They were heading in the general direction of Vale, which Jaune didn't worry about. When they got there the huntsmen that protected it would stop them. Instead his team moved in the direction they came from. If the grimm were willing to ignore them, then they would do the same. No sense wasting energy or risk being overwhelmed.

Nora, of course, was very disappointed in this decision.

Four months ago they ran across the first solid sign that the reapers were in the area, or had been. They had talked about returning to Vale in a few days regardless of the grimm's peculiar behavior. There was no turning around at this however.

Pyrrha was the one who found the footprint. Human in shape, but too large, and it was imprinted deep enough to have been made by something over six hundred pounds.

They followed the trail that reaper had made. Ren and Pyrrha alternately acted as trackers, being the most suited to the job, while Jaune and Nora kept an eye out for possible attacks from the seemingly docile grimm or a hidden reaper.

By the time they found the trail they were outside the range their scrolls could broadcast to Vale, forcing them into radio silence. They weren't going to be able to call for help, or even tell anyone what they had found. That had been the risk from the start and they had all accepted it.

It had surprised Jaune the first time they had been in the field at how focused Nora could be. She wasn't as talkative, or showed any of her usual pranking behavior. It shouldn't have. She was a professional. There was a time for everything and even Nora could accept that.

It made the trip very quiet. Him and Pyrrha had remained as in sync as the day they first found the reapers all those years ago. More so if possible. It allowed them to communicate without even looking at each other sometimes. They always felt the other, and felt the other's love. It helped keep them both steady.

How the other two got by he wasn't sure. Ren had a girlfriend in Vale, but it could never get too serious with the time he spent away, and Nora... well she was Nora. She never really got too serious with her girlfriends.

Maybe it was just how centered his relationship made him that he assumed the lack of one should be bothering them. He was biased.

Pyrrha looked over her shoulder at Jaune, smiling, then returned to finding the next clue on where their prey had gone. She probably knew exactly what he was thinking about, as usual.

When the pause in searching lasted a few minutes Jaune stopped scanning the forest long enough to ask what had happened. "Did we lose it again?" It wouldn't be the first time the trail had gone cold. Fanning out would normally allow one of them to heat it back up.

"Sorry Jaune, but it appears so," Pyrrha answered, Ren nodding next to her.

The hour was getting late. They would have light for another hour, which would give them enough time to set camp and organize when each of them took their turn as sentry. Fanning out would have to wait until tomorrow, unfortunately. He hoped more signs of their passing would not be lost during the night.

"Hey boss man," Nora said in her chipper voice. There was a bit of sarcasm in that. Though Jaune was the leader, and they all accepted he had final say in command decisions, none of them, even Ren, let it get to his head.

"According to my scroll there's an old SDC facility about fifteen minutes that way." She paused only long enough to point to the east before continuing. "It's been abandoned for over twenty years, but there should be something we can use as shelter still standing."

Silently Jaune was happy her speech pattern, which was normally more of a coherent flow of consciousness than actual sentences, was slow and to the point. Behind Nora, Pyrrha's eyes danced with amusement at his unspoken thoughts.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jaune agreed.

Ren finally gave up on trying to track his quarry and came around to look over his best friend's shoulder. "It does seem optimal."

As had become her custom Pyrrha simply nodded. If anyone was allowing Jaune's head to inflate it was her. That was, as far as he was concerned, the only chink in his wife's armor.

In combat decisions his word came first. That hadn't always been the case. When he was still learning from Pyrrha how to fight, and building his confidence, she sabotaged the second without realizing it by taking control in combat situations. It was only natural, honestly. Jaune didn't have the experience or training yet, but he was still overly sensitive.

Once she realized what she was doing, which luckily after he had grown to understand the role, she had gone into full reverse. He may be in command, but he always valued his teammates input, and especially hers. It was fortunate that he could read the amazon so well. He usually knew what she was thinking.

In this case she was truly agreeing with Nora's planned location to set camp.

"Ok, let's move out. We'll look for their trail again tomorrow," Jaune said with the authority he had grown comfortable with.

When they arrived at the facility they found a perplexing sight. The exterior walls of the old mining facility were thicker than any Jaune had seen except Vale's defensive perimeter. Despite that there was one area of the wall that had been breached by something massive. There were several buildings beyond it that had collapsed by that ancient force rather than time.

A quick scan with the thermal camera indicated no cold spots that were the tell tale spots of grimm. The light from the sun was starting to go to twilight, so first priority was to find shelter and hopefully a working well to get fresh water. With no grimm to worry about they did so openly.

The building they found had once been the main store house of the facility, but now it was only a cave made by two large slabs of concrete that had once been its walls.

"Do you feel it?" Ren asked into the silence. (Nora was out looking around) He spoke rarely so when he did Jaune took notice.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on what was around them. It was faint, but it was definitely there.

His once teacher answered first however. "Dust."

Dust was still a mystery, but most accepted that it was a natural resource formed long ago, no different than diamonds. It wasn't something that could be reproduced or made, at least if there is no one had discovered it. There hadn't been a lack of effort among the scientists backed by government funding either. Given that the SDC had to have mined the area clean there shouldn't be any dust left.

"We should look into it in the morning," Jaune decided. This was one mystery that needed answered. It may have more importance than the reapers.

The other two nodded their agreement, then finished setting up the interior of their home away from home. After years of doing this they had all figured out the chores they filled the best and were doing them efficiently. That was why Nora was outside. Even after a day of walking she normally had energy she needed to burn off before she could sleep.

Nora came in, stopping her skipping at the door, carrying several newly filled water skins. "I found a working hand pump, so I went ahead and filled these up, because I figured that was what I should do and I don't want to be out there by myself for too long. I mean, I can beat anything up that's out there, but I don't want to take away from anyone else's fun. So I carried all of them at once. It wasn't much really. We should bring more skins next time we come out. What would we do if we went a long stretch with no clean water to refill with? I can take the extra weight easy. I'm small, but I'm mighty."

Now that they were settled in Nora had returned to her more normal way of talking, with interest. Holding all that in for her must be a matter of pure willpower. Jaune leaned back from where he was sitting and simply listened, picking out small pieces of information in the monologue that he was seriously considering.

"Nora," Ren interrupted.

"Yes Ren?"

With a casual feel that came from knowing each other since early childhood Ren asked "The door?"

"Oh, of course!"

"The door" was a third slab of wall, which Nora pulled into place. There was no way inside large enough for a dog to get through after that. There wasn't a grimm any of them had heard of smaller than a wolf, so they were confident in this passive defense.

There had been a question that was answered once in their third year: who's stronger, Yang or Nora? At the time Yang had won, but Jaune was willing to bet the results would be different today.

With their lodging secured all four could sleep safely. Dinner had been water and bread, but in the morning they would hunt for better fair. It was enough to fill their stomachs and get one of the rarest of things: sound sleep.

* * *

Their cave was small, giving little room for all four to lie down and sleep. It was a good thing they had gotten comfortable enough that invasion of their personal space wasn't an issue.

Of course Jaune and Pyrrha snuggled closely. Behind him, back to back, Nora was snoring soundly, an arm lying on Ren's chest. Of the four she was the most restless sleeper. Occasionally Jaune would wake up with her cuddling up behind him, asleep and unaware that the person she was holding wasn't the female she was dreaming about. That was a painfully embarrassing at first, for obvious reasons. After a few years it was merely awkward.

This arrangement meant that when one of them got up they all woke up. Nora was the morning person in the group, so normally was the one who got them up first. Today it was Ren however. He was the one who slept the lightest, waking at any unusual sound around him.

All three of the others were instantly in combat mode, grabbing their weapons and ready. "What did you hear?" Jaune asked quietly. Prepared for possible combat he took full control of his squad.

"Something on the door... Like scratches." Ren replied, an usual tint of worry in his voice.

Nodding his understanding, he then looked at Nora and swung his head to indicate she needed to move the door. With a smile she raised her grenade launcher to move it permanently. Quickly Jaune put his hand on the barrel and pushed it down. He wanted it intact.

With a frown of disappointment Nora moved up to the slab and pushed the door to the side, all three others covering her.

The cover turned out to be unnecessary. There wasn't anything outside except buildings in various states of decay, just as it had been when they went she had closed it. Automatically Jaune grabbed his thermal scope, searching around for any form of life that posed a danger.

If it was possible his hair would have gone white at what he saw. In the barest of whispers he said "We're surrounded."

There were enough grimm around the exterior of the compound that the thermal signatures all blurred together, making it impossible to know what kind of grimm they were. The breach, the easiest exit for them that wouldn't leave them vulnerable, was the most packed.

JNPR was one of the best teams in Vale, but even they had no chance of getting out without being overwhelmed with those numbers.

"I have a feeling they're going to attack if we try leaving," Jaune said, speaking the obvious. "But why aren't they coming in?"

"Jaune... Come see this," Pyrrha said, sounding unusually unsteady.

Moving around their makeshift door, he looked at the wall. Carved into it was a single word. "Vengeance."

The meaning was lost to him at first. Vengeance for what? "Jaune," Ren said, pointing to the left of the breach. Standing above the rest of the grimm there was one form he could clearly make out, a reaper, arms out to be sure he was identified properly.

It was a hulking sized monster. Jaune remembered Coco's description of the grimm she had fought in their final battle with the reapers. This one must have been of the same type. The one Coco had gone against had nearly killed her, and done so easily.

"If he's like the one Coco fought only Nora's weapon has a chance of breaking his armor," Jaune said, still in command with the possible threat. "Keep that in mind if we have to fight him."

As if he somehow knew that he had been spotted their prey turned around and left.

Understanding came. "It's a siege. He wants us to die slowly."

Unexpectedly Pyrrha fired a single shot from her rifle into the air. Looking up Jaune saw a small nevermore no bigger than an eagle falling, disintegrating to nothingness before it hit the ground. A lookout? That possibility scared him. It meant a reaper had a level of control over the rest of the grimm beyond any of their possible guesses.

"Well that figures," Nora said sarcastically. "We've been thinking there had to be a connection between the grimm acting weird and the reapers, but to hell if we could figure out how, or how well." She let out a quick snort. "Well, we know how well now. It only took being put in a death trap."

All grimm fed off of fear and other negative emotions. Inevitably they were going to have all they could crave from them as their food ran out and desperation set in. They weren't there yet however.

"We were going to investigate this place anyways, so we might as well do it," Jaune ordered, hoping it would keep everyone's minds, including his, away from thoughts of doom. "Ren, you're the best at sensing the dust, see if you can pinpoint the source, or sources, and let us know what you find.

"Pyrrha keep an eye on the grimm while we're busy." Yeah, it would have been nice to have Pyrrha at his side, but that wasn't where she would be the most effective. Personal bias had no place in command decisions.

Looking over at Nora, Jaune finished with "and why don't we see if there's anything here that's useful?"

The search was largely worthless however. No food of course, which as the most important item on his list. Their own supply of food was thin. They were going to go out hunting today to replenish. There were no heavy weapons, or any other ways to get out, like maybe an old bullhead. Honestly, Jaune hadn't expected to find anything.

He had gotten excited when they ran across the communications tower. It would give them a chance to call for help with its improved range. It looked to be intact except for its antenna, but when he tried to use it all he got was disappointment. Though reception would have been bad without the antenna, they should have been able to get at least one of the closer outposts. All he heard was silence.

Returning to base camp he found Pyrrha still scanning the perimeter. "No change, she reported over her shoulder.

Jaune nodded his understanding, pulling out his own infrared to view the surroundings. It wasn't that he didn't trust Pyrrha's assessment. If she told him to jump off a cliff he would without pause. It was so he had a clear mental image of what was around them. "Any idea what we're dealing with out there yet?" Jaune asked while he scanned.

"I saw at least ten of what I think are deathstalker tails, but otherwise I could not tell," Pyrrha replied.

That was actually more than Jaune was hoping for. "I also shot down five more nevermores of about the same size as the first."

That didn't confirm they were acting as aerial spies, but it was close. "Okay, I'll take over, get some rest love." He didn't normally use endearments when in situations like this. Like Nora, he was a professional and there was a time and place for everything. In this case he was making an exception. Even if she didn't need the comfort hearing that one word would bring, which he knew she did, he needed it for the comfort saying it brought him.

How Prryha caught the small details like the thin tails of a deathstalker, by the standards of their scopes, Jaune didn't know. She was simply better with the fine details, which is why she made such a fine sniper.

"Nora, take a look at the breach and see what we're dealing with visually. Be careful though," he said, putting emphasis on careful. He knew her tendency to go into a fight without thinking. Hopefully this danger was enough to keep her back. "Stay as far back as you can, and from cover. If you even see a hint of aggression..."

"Run for it," she interrupted. "Yeah yeah. I'm not stupid. I got it." She sounded annoyed, and abashed Jaune had to admit she had good reason. Before he could apologize she was already off. Surprisingly she still look annoyed. That girl could let anything pass by her without bothering a hair on her head. He had messed up by the numbers.

About fifteen minutes later Ren ran up carrying something. When he got close Jaune was able to make out a sword. It had a thin blade, light hilt, he guessed perfectly balanced, and a red rope of some kind hanging from the pommel nut. That last was what allowed him to identify it as a dancing sword.

When Ren reached him the last clue on why Ren was running instead of walking came out: It had an aura. A very feint, very familiar, aura. It wasn't identical, but felt disturbingly close to Ruby's. He ran through the possibilities quickly to think of how that could be and came to the only possible conclusion. To be that close it had to be a parent. Taiyang's weapon had been with him when he died. That only left Summer. Though he hadn't known what weapon she used before, he had no question now.

Running through the bits and pieces of what he knew of their family history, which were very few, he was amazed that the weapon was this far away from Vale. "Pack it up. Ruby will want it," Jaune somberly told Ren before he could give the story behind its discovery.

Returning from their temporary home a couple minutes later Jaune was anxious to hear about how Ren had found it.

"I believe the dust is only small amounts of powder mixed into the soil throughout the facility," Ren said. Jaune expected this would take no longer than three sentences. "No matter where I went the strength did not change noticeably. I located the sword in the center of a battle from long ago."

Nailed it. Ren was nothing if not succinct. "I'll want to look at it later. I want to be the one to give it to Ruby, if no one minds." Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's elbow silently. She would be coming to. Ren only shook his head calmly. He doubted Nora would want to either. This was the painful responsibility of leaders, but he hoped it would give Ruby some form of comfort.

Jaune didn't have much hope, but he had to ask. "We located the communication tower, what is left of it. It seemed intact except for the antenna, but is only giving static. Do you think you can look at it?" None of them were technicians, but of the four Ren was the closest.

"Yes," Ren said simply. "Lead the way."

* * *

 _Author's Note: Chapter 2 is now edited to fix multiple continuity errors created by this chapter. This was a major edit specifically in the section that Alice reported on JNPR (Obviously). I also extended the timeline so this all takes place 3 years after White Rose's wedding._

 _02/03/16 - A recent guest review believes I may have given Jaune too much of a command role in this chapter. I have been thinking on this because I thought he may have a point. Here's my reasoning: Teams of huntsmen are basically military units. As kids it's natural for this to be an informal arrangement, but as an adult there needs to be a clear leader._

 _What I didn't take into account was while they may have some military like necessities in the field, they are also friends. I think I did remove that dynamic, and am thankful for that review. I revised this chapter tonight to fix that problem, at least some. What happened hasn't changed at all, just the handling of it. I did change how Nora reacted to Jaune's patronizing attitude on checking the breach. Expect more on that in the future. The next of their chapters will be from Nora's perspective. I will cycle through all four during the course of the book._

 _02/19/16 - New update fixing some grammar errors that were pointed out (With my thanks) as well as a few awkward spots._


	6. Uncertain Flight Plan

Blake leaned back into her chair, a chair much too expensive for her small office. It had been a gift from Alice's parents who in the early years had been the major financial backing for Phoenix. Being estranged from their daughter for a list of reasons Blake didn't fully understand, they had done their best to stay silent partners and off Alice's radar.

Yeah, that probably didn't last beyond the first week with her spy master, but the pretense was still being maintained.

As she sat Blake contemplated Alice's news. "Hawk," she said to herself. It wasn't a name she knew. They didn't frequent the same circles, but Alice did. The way she had said it was with a reverence Blake never expected to hear from the leader of her black wing. That made her worry.

The question was what to do with the information. Though Alice, and most of the intelligence community for that matter, knew of Hawk, no one knew who he worked for. It was commonly agreed that he only had a single employer. If he was freelance there would be a trail of employers eager to make claim of use of his services. They couldn't be cheap or easy to come by.

That employer is what was of interest, not the spy. Who had set their sights on Yang, and for what purpose? Blake didn't think it had to do with her work as a reality star, which Alice agreed with, at least not directly. More likely it was to get back to Phoenix through both her personal and financial connections.

There was a possibility, a very thin possibility that, whoever this mystery man was, Hawk's boss was doing it for their benefit. It was a possibility that had to be considered. There could be a number of reasons why someone would help ranging from altruistic to greedy. In either extreme it was puzzling that he hadn't been more open in his involvement.

The more likely, almost a given, reason for his interest was to damage or even destroy Phoenix. If he was on to Yang's deception that possibility was entirely possible with the potential backlash. Even if he wasn't aware the course of Hawk's investigation might turn it up. That was a worst case scenario that all the heads had worried about, but decided it was worth the risk. Well, the risk was now very real in her mind.

Blake could go directly to Yang, but while she considered Yang a sister she didn't have any illusions to her weaknesses. The ability to be subtle was one of them, that was for sure. If her friend found out she was more likely to seek Hawk out and attempt to beat the information out of him. That wasn't going to be very productive, and it would overplay their hand.

Her boyfriend Jerry and his boyfriend Jeff (She tried not to be annoyed at that thought) on the other hand were a better direction to reach. Jeff especially was well suited. Simon had assigned him to work nearly autonomously from the rest. That showed both trust and skill in what was a very intricate dance. That assignment had been before Jerry and Jeff had started dating, and not long after Jerry had broken up with his last girlfriend. The one that wasn't Yang. (Really, she was trying not to be annoyed)

Oh who was she kidding? It was pissing her off. Didn't Yang have any pride anymore? It had been bad enough when Yang had wanted to date two guys. At least Blake could attribute that to Yang being greedy and full of herself in some weird twisted way. Blake was surprised Sun and Neptune had allowed it to go as far as it did. But to allow your boyfriend to date someone else?

If Thompson wanted to date someone else Blake would rip his throat out. Not that they were dating of course.

It's her life though. Blake let her anger burn itself out, then turned back to the problem at hand with a clearer head.

She would need to bring Simon in on this of course. This directly related to his wing. Alice was already hock deep, but also completely aware of the situation. She should still be around for that meeting to fill in any gaps Blake didn't know or understand properly.

What about the other wings? They had just done their bi-weekly meeting yesterday. Did this qualify as something all wings needed to be aware of immediately? Thompson might be needed to put in a security team, though Blake didn't like that option. It wasn't overplaying their hand as bad as Yang would, but not by much.

Yes, this was definitely called for a full meeting, including their second in commands who normally only showed up to the monthly meetings. The ramifications here could be global.

Four years after graduation and Blake still looked back at those days and missed the simplicity of life then.

* * *

The meeting had to wait until that evening, as much as Blake didn't want to. First she had to do her visit, interview, or whatever you wanted to call it, with Theresa and Friends. After that she was going to be busy with Ruby and Weiss. Aside from them being friends and Blake's very legitimate worry about how they were doing, she was finding that the trouble with Whicker Mining was much worse than Daniel and indicated at the last meeting.

When Blake suggested that bringing Weiss in to help would do her friend some good the man was near tears with relief. That company wasn't subsidizing the smaller businesses; they were shoveling money towards them. Any extra they could was funneled at those who were on the fence to entice (bribe) them to exclude faunus. It was sickening, and when they were that large it was hard to stop.

That allowed Blake to feel less guilty about manipulating her friend. The fact she was going to do it even if it had been as completely full of hot air didn't allow her to alleviate it completely.

She wasn't the only one who needed to postpone the meeting until tonight. It was inevitable that more of the administrative wing, primarily composed of the heads of the other five wings, were not going to be immediately available. It was okay though. Any decisions they made would not be put into motion until tomorrow anyways. It was better not to rush.

The interview was as bad as Blake had feared. Possibly a bit worse. She had managed to not trip over her own words. Instead she managed to appear the cool confident woman Simon wanted and Phoenix needed, but by the end she was emotionally drained. It was a feeling only another introvert could truly appreciate. She would have preferred to go home alone and read, but she had promised Ruby she would come over. It wasn't going to allow her to completely recharge her social batteries, but her friends would allow them to start at least.

Besides, she really did miss them. She wasn't going to take the chance they were going to disappear tomorrow on some whim of Weiss's. The fact she really did fear that was proof of how bad this situation had gotten. She was ashamed that she had allowed it to get this far.

It wasn't her first visit to their house, though the last time had been over a year ago. There wasn't much that made it stand out. It wasn't a mansion, but it wasn't a hovel either. If she was to put a term to it, suburban bliss fit the best. No one would know that what had once been one of the richest teenagers on Remnant lived there.

As she drove up Ruby had stuck her head out as if she was expecting to find someone waiting. While she did spot Blake's car, she didn't seem to recognize it. That wasn't surprising given how long it had been since she lost saw it.

Not finding whoever she expected she instead looked down and grabbed an envelope that was waiting for her instead. After picking it up she looked at it for a brief moment then purposely slid it into their mailbox. Blake was instantly suspicious. Ruby was being deceptive, which was the most un-Ruby-like thing imaginable.

Blake reached the house right after her friend closed her door and went back inside. Approaching she opened the mailbox quietly, then took a peek inside. Invasion of privacy? Absolutely. If it was innocent then there was no harm. If it wasn't... well, if it wasn't she'd figure it out then.

There was only one reason Blake knew that Ruby would hide something: She thought it was something that would harm Weiss in some way. Just a quick peek was all it took to see she was right. Blake didn't have a second thought as she dropped it into her satchel. What she was doing, and what Ruby had already done, was manipulative, but what was inside the envelope was worse. Much worse. The fact Ruby hadn't needed to open it meant it wasn't the first time something like it had been delivered.

Ruby had left the door cracked slightly. It was enough that opening it wouldn't seem out of place. She had been hearing some of what was being said inside. It was enough to know that if she didn't step in Ruby was going to blow what was good for her lover even if Weiss wouldn't see it that way. That couldn't be allowed.

"If you say so." Weiss said from inside.

Before more could be said she opened the door fully and walked in. Neither noticed which from two huntresses, especially two fresh from the field, was wrong. If they didn't get their rest they were going to die. If not the next time they went out, the time after that.

"You two really need to get an interior decorator," Blake said to announce her presence. "I pay you enough to afford it."

Both jumped, and while they were recovering she took a quick look around. The joke might not be as funny as she hoped. Had they taken any time to themselves? The only thing that could be considered furniture was the pair of chairs the couple was sitting in, and both of them had been wedding gifts.

When both had collected themselves enough to notice Blake's interest both had the grace to look embarrassed at what she had found. "That was meant to be funny... but..," the faunus said, not sure where to go with the sentence after that.

Weiss finished it for her, saving her the trouble. "But it's a bit too true. An interior decorator is a good idea actually."

"I don't want one!" Ruby said, sounding a bit like the child she had been when she first got to Beacon. "I want the house to feel like us, not like someone else."

Weiss sighed while Blake chuckled, letting the matter from outside drop from her mind, and hopefully from Ruby's. The less they thought about it the less it would show. The show of Ruby-ness was perfect for the moment. "You're going to start up with that again, aren't you?" Weiss said, sounding annoyed. Blake doubted it was true. Not completely at least.

"Yup."

A low groan was Weiss's only verbal reply, which was enough to signal Ruby's easy victory. A bit too easy, proving how little Weiss was irritated.

"I know a few good furniture stores in town. They need the business, and their quality is good," Blake offered. She had decided on recommending them this morning after a brief talk to Thompson. Both stores were excellent, but they were struggling. Part of it was simply because they were small, but most of it was because they were run by faunus. "I'll drive."

Neither of her friends argued, following Blake out to her average looking sedan. There was nothing about it that made it stand out, which is how she liked it. She wasn't as high profile as Yang, but she was still easily recognized. A little anonymity was nice.

To that end her clothing was different from how the public would expect to see her. Anyone who had been at Beacon would recognize the style from before Weiss's makeover, complete with her once signature bow. She didn't feel comfortable in them anymore, especially the bow, but she didn't feel uncomfortable either.

Funny how a change in clothes was all it took to hide in plain sight. It was a lot more effective than a pair of dark shades and a tan trench coat, which was Yang's standard way to "hide" from her press.

"You said we needed to talk?" Weiss prompted Blake.

That was as good as a start to this conversation as any. Pulling away from the curb she spoke over her shoulder to Weiss who had taken the back seat. "Yeah. We have a problem and I think you're the best one to help with it."

She had been paying attention to Weiss through the rear view mirror, wondering how her friend was going to react. The suspicious glance at Ruby proved Weiss was expecting some sort of collusion to keep her from the field. She was half right at least.

"There's a company trying to get people to turn back against faunus customers and businesses."

A short snort, then Weiss replied "what's my dad up to this time?" The sarcasm in 'dad' was unmistakable. It carried many of the icy and angry undertones that had been an ingrained part of her before Beacon.

Next to her in the front seat Ruby sighed. Blake agreed. The tunnel vision her friend was suffering was worse than even the height of her hunt for Torchwick all those years ago. "It's not him this time," Blake advised, hoping it would remind Weiss there were more enemies than just the Schnee Dust Company. "Whicker Mining is going about it, and not being subtle either."

Without pause Weiss replied "They wouldn't be. Their CEO doesn't understand the concept." Well, at least she wasn't completely blind to their other adversaries then. "So, what are they doing?"

The discussion didn't last as long as it would have five years ago. Blake was still mostly clueless about finances, at least on this level, and Weiss's old protégé, who now ran the finance wing, wasn't. "Let me talk to Daniel and get actual numbers and what he's already got into place," Weiss finally said after asking the same question for the forth time with no more understanding on Blake's part.

"He's going to be at the meeting tonight. I'll come pick you up..."

"You're the leader of a multi-national organization," Weiss replied testily, which made Blake smile. This was the friend she had wanted to see this evening. "Even if we are friends there is a certain decorum you need to show the world and you know it. Besides, I'm perfectly capable of driving myself."

From the corner of her eye she caught Ruby smiling, obvious relief in her eyes. Yes, this diversion was exactly what Weiss needed. Given the subject matter of the meeting however, she wasn't sure she wanted the red hooded speedster to come along. By "wasn't sure" she meant "without question."

One road block at a time. She did need to talk to Ruby privately anyways about the envelope hiding close enough for Weiss to grab if she had only known. It was yet another discussion that she wanted Alice's input on. As much as she hated secrets she had learned to depend on her resident trickster.

After pulling into a parking spot the three got out and headed towards the first of many shops. "Speaking of decorum, what's up with your clothing," Weiss started, and continued with the improprieties and necessities of her station.

This wasn't the huntress who stalked the wilds with bloody intentions. This was one of her closest and valued friends. _I'm glad she's still in there._

* * *

Smiling over her desk, Winter looked at its previous owner. His glassy eyes still looked stunned as his body cooled. _I'm going to have to get that chair replaced,_ she decided.

* * *

 _Author's Notes:_

 _02/19/106 - Fixed some grammar issues noted in a review (As always, with my sincere thanks), as well as a couple of accidental omissions on my part. The reason for Blake's chair is now included at the beginning, and "dad" is now with sarcasm (It always was, but I kinda forgot to tell the reader that).  
_


	7. Wolves and Sheep

For a normally boisterous woman like Yang being stalked wasn't anything to worry about. Having paparazzi shadow her, horribly, was normal. She had gotten used to them hiding in bushes and rooftops a long time ago. She considered that a game and their prize was getting exactly what they wanted when she got tired of them.

The stalkers and the fan-boys were even more amusing to her, normally. They made the paparazzi look like pros (In fairness, they were pros, just not in the same league as a huntress). Sometimes sweet, sometimes creepy, but they were never anything to lose sleep over.

This guy was different. He was _good._ At first it had been entertaining, and something she respected. When they had parted ways after their first encounter she expected to see him again to play another round. She hadn't expected it to be that night. Or the next morning, or every other minute she thought to check for him, which had increased at an accelerated rate.

The situation was starting to leave her edgy. It brought back memories of another who had stalked her. She hadn't known his identity either until he wanted to reveal it. That had been after he nearly killed both Sun and Neptune, and left her temporarily blind.

If she was really honest with herself it was scaring the hell out of her. She was hovering over Jerry and Jeff almost religiously now, even when she shouldn't be to hold on to her public image.

She knew his aura well now. He was never too far away, but when she tried to turn the tables and find him he managed to avoid her. Last time he escaped her she had gotten so pissed she shattered a light pole with a single punch.

Well, that helped maintain her image at least. The photos of her doing it were already circulating.

The fear was embarrassing though. While Jeff had managed to spin it as Yang trying to make up for the last affair, he still didn't know why it was happening. Neither of them did. Not completely at least. How could she admit that?

Oh, she knew she was being stupid. Jerry and Jeff both knew she was human under the tough exterior, and she knew they would understand. It was her own pride stopping her.

Normally their sleeping arrangements were a trade deal. One weak Jerry was with her, then next he was with Jeff. During Jerry's sleep time with Jeff was normally when Yang had her supposed affairs. Her lover must feel a bit like a yo-yo between the two sometimes, not that he complained of course.

Most of her "affairs" were with friends; close ones she could trust to keep the truth away from the public. They didn't mind the notoriety when it (purposely) got out. It gave them their ten minutes in the sun. Enough to enjoy, not long enough to get burned. If their metaphorical skin started to get pinkish all she had to do is have some other scandal rise and he'd be quickly left in the shadows.

For the last few days however they were all sharing the same bed. Contrary to what most believed of her lifestyle this didn't happen often, but tonight she needed it. She needed to know they were both safe. They weren't fighters, she was. If they were near she could protect them. Their safety was the source of her fear, not hers.

Her room was purposely set so photos of clandestine meetings could be taken from outside. Because of that tonight they were in Jeff's room. The change of scenery was nice actually, and the lack of windows was reassuring. It was as safe as she could make it right now.

After two nights of being stalked Yang woke up as his presence invaded her sleep. Normally a tank running through her bedroom was what it took to wake her, but at that point she had started sleeping lightly as if she was in the field. His aura wasn't outside this time, which is why it had alerted her subconscious.

 _This guy is pretty ballsy if he's in my house,_ she thought to herself. Feeling as if she had her prey trapped she slowly got up, managing not to wake either of the others. She put on Ember Celica, but left the rest of her clothes where they laid on the floor. It wasn't like the rest of the world couldn't find pictures of her somewhere, and she wasn't the shy type. That night she didn't have time for such niceties.

Her house in Vacuo, much like her houses in the other three kingdoms, was far larger than she needed or wanted. Image was everything however in her line of work. Every room was furnished, but most of it was much cheaper than they looked. That size allowed her to prowl, moving as silently a lioness.

She didn't think he had enough training, if any, to control his aura or to sense others, but she suppressed hers to be sure. This was her home turf. She was going to make the best use of it she could and not lose this opportunity.

He was moving with purpose, which worried her. He knew exactly where he was going. As far as she was knew the plans to the house wasn't in any public forum. By his direction she thought he might be heading to her room which was even ballsier than coming in at all.

Then again, he could know it was empty. It was purposely set so anyone making the effort could get a good view from outside. If he hadn't known she was here this might not have seemed that risky. That wasn't his fault.

What a pity.

Her room and Jeff's were on opposite sides of the house. She could be rather loud when she was with Jerry. It was a kindness to be so far apart so Jeff could get some sleep. It meant the intruder had a good head start. She decided to lay in wait instead, going to the only set of stairs down from her room and sat in the shadows.

Soon.

* * *

Lucas, or Luke as he preferred to be called, shifted through the house quietly. Where Yang was he wasn't sure, but she wasn't in her room. If her press was to be believed she was probably sleeping around again. It was an opportunity he couldn't turn down. His employer was getting aggressive, and he didn't need that aggression aimed at him.

The plans to the house had been provided. Where she got them Luke didn't know. It wasn't from any source he knew of. He'd looked. He was grateful right now. This place was massive. Looking for her room would have taken too long.

He wasn't certain what he would find, but anything incriminating was most likely to be in her bedroom if it existed anywhere at all. What could be incriminating to a woman with little shame he wasn't sure, but he had to try. He had come to understand that taking this job was a mistake, but at the time the money had been good. Better than good actually. Little had he known that the risk wasn't from Ms. Long.

Getting to her room he quickly looked around. He didn't take the time to hide his actions. They wouldn't be effective anyways. All he found was what should be in any couples room. Mostly her boyfriend's clothing, who seemed to be the clothes horse of the two. There was a bit of jewelry, but not much. That wasn't surprising. Yang never seemed to have any on during any of her appearances. The attached bath was much the same.

He had to find something. This attempt was the last real chance he had. He had given up on her making a mistake and showing too much. Why he had expected that to start with he didn't know. Even bottom feeding reporters got lucky, and as many as there were on her there couldn't me any secrets left.

After ten minutes of searching, five more than he wanted, he had to accept defeat. He grabbed what jewelry he could to cover his real reason for being there and started heading out. He would take a look at her living room, the largest one at least, in hopes of finding something, but he didn't have much hope.

* * *

He was heading out. There wasn't a sound to be heard. If she wasn't tracking his aura she would never have known. The game of cat and mouse would end soon and maybe she would get a good night's sleep again.

What was he expecting to find anyways? Whatever it was it wasn't there. At least nothing that hadn't already been seen. If he really was paparazzi surely a few pictures of her underwear wasn't going to get much, and Jerry's wardrobe was even less interesting.

He was here. Moving at a crawl he made it down to the last step. He hadn't noticed her, which was good. She wasn't taking any chances this time. This guy could move silently, but so could she. By the time he had taken three steps from the base of the stairs she was on him, putting him face down on the floor before he could know what was happening.

"You got a large brass set to be in here," she whispered into her captive's ear. With one of his cheeks firmly planted on the floor, and her forearm firmly planted on the other he didn't have many options. To make it even more clear how much trouble he was in she placed her fist on the floor in front of his eyes.

She gauged his reaction as her bracelet changed into a weaponized gauntlet. It wasn't as severe as she would have liked. He was a professional. Either that or he was too stupid to know he should be scared, which was laughable. He definitely wasn't paparazzi. Those types never held their cool when threatened. They'd been on the receiving end of a beating enough times to be properly gun shy.

Still leaning over him, she whispered one more time. "So, who are you working for?" That time she got a reaction. It was one that proved she was right.

Yang didn't have the taste for torture, and anything short of that wasn't likely to get him to talk. So what to do? She wished that Alice was here. This was her field of expertise.

No sound was coming from him of course. Silence was his best option. Anything else and Yang might get some small clue to what was really going on here. She would already know more than she should by his estimation.

At the very least she was going to find out who he was tonight. Sitting up but still on his back she noted that he didn't attempt to fight his way out of his predicament with the new freedom this allowed. A smart move on his part, but it didn't stop her from giving him one hell of a headache when he woke up.

After delivering the knockout blow she threw him over her shoulder and headed to the living room. It had the only locatable camera. She took the picture and then contemplated further.

She wasn't a spy. She didn't have any way of putting a tracker on him, and even if she did there was no chance that he wouldn't find it. That meant setting him somewhere and letting him lead her to whoever hired him was out. It was a cliché move anyways.

Holding him wasn't going to help either. This wasn't a jail, and if he was able to get free he would be able to snoop more.

Only one thing for it then. The cops showed up quickly. A unit must have been near her estate. Breaking and entering would keep him in their custody at least for a day even if he did get bailed out. It might be enough time to figure out more.

Her next move was to call Alice and send her the picture she had taken. If she couldn't figure out more no one could.

* * *

Coming back to consciousness the first thing Luke recognized was the feel of cuffs on his wrists. They weren't the standard type. This set forced his arms into a painful angle behind him so the back of both wrists were towards each other. It made it harder for his fingers to get to the locks. Nearly impossible really. They were not standard police equipment.

Remaining still and keeping his breathing calm, he continued to play unconscious while he tried to figure out more. It was a wasted effort.

"You're awake." He hoped it was one of Yang's friends. He didn't think any of them would do any true harm to him. Better still was the police despite being the wrong type of cuffs. If it was them he would be out before morning.

When he looked up from his sitting position he noted the man in front of him. There was nothing remarkable about him. Average build, average looks, average clothing. The closest thing to a distinguishing characteristic was his age. For a spook he was remarkably old. They usually retired, one way or another, twenty years younger than what he looked.

There was no doubt in his mind he was facing another spy. Luke was young to the game, but he knew the rules well and the general shape of its pieces. If this had been a game of chess this man was the Queen, second only to the King who he took orders from. Luke was a pawn in comparison. He had no chance of crossing the board and become more. Not now.

Flipping a switch his captor started a winch. Its chain was attached to his cuffs somehow. This was clear when his arms, already registering mild pain, became pure agony as they were pulled upwards. First it forced him to stand up, and then to lean forward to avoid dislocating his shoulders. His hands continued to get pulled up. When his feet started to leave the ground his scream was unstoppable. The pain ended, relatively speaking, when his shoulders did dislocate from the pressure of his own body weight.

"I have a message for your boss," his tormentor said casually. "But you don't need to memorize it. I think she will understand."

Before that statement had a chance to register the real torture began. Torture without a single question ever asked.

* * *

 _Author's Notes:_

 _02/20/16 - Edited to improve some grammar. Also did a rework on the first few paragraphs. A previous review (With my extreme gratitude) pointed out why it felt wrong. And I admit, it felt wrong to me at the time but I couldn't figure out why. I like this much better._

 _I also corrected Geophry's name, kinda. It_ is _Geophry, but he normally goes by Jeff. I'll be rewriting a small spot on chapter 3 to be clear on that as well as to change it so only one Geophry shows when he's first introduced.  
_


	8. Distractions

For the first time in months Ruby was alone. Being both precocious and extraverted this normally would have bothered her, but tonight was different. It had been a fun day of shopping and socializing, and it had been the first time she had seen her wife look like her wife in a long time. The furniture was going to be delivered tomorrow and she was already making mental plans on where everything was going to be put.

It wasn't going to be enough to fill the house of course. That would take more than a single shopping trip, but their bedroom and living room, at least, was going to look like a real adults finally instead of a poor bachelor pad.

Given the house's current rate of occupancy it might get the lived in feel about five years from now. Now that was a depressing thought.

Tonight was a night for herself however. Weiss was off at the meeting with the rest of Phoenix. Ruby had no need to be there and no desire either. Business meetings were too boring, and she had nothing of interest to report that Weiss couldn't say.

She had other things to be doing besides. After being sure Blake and Weiss were out of sight she made her way back to the front door and went to pull out the envelope from her mailbox.

 _What the..._

And then the panic hit.

After a half hour of useless searching, and she had known it would be useless from the start, she forced herself to calm down and think. Her mind could still go into circular logic, if logic is the right word, which spun further and further out of control. Fear was the most effective way for it to start, hence why the first clear thought took this long for more clear thinking to form.

 _She didn't find it. If Weiss was the one who found it I would know,_ She reassured herself. _The entire neighborhood would know._ Thinking clearly again she followed the logic, real logic this time, on what could have happened.

 _Only two other people had a chance to know what I did; the person who put the envelope there in the first place, or Blake if she was there early enough to see me do it. Blake hadn't said anything, but we were never away from Weiss, so that's possible. Whoever is delivering those tips might have, but I can't think of why._

Blake was the likely culprit then, which meant she was trusting Ruby. The team may have split after graduation, but their bond and trust amongst them was still absolute, so that was more than believable. That Blake had taken it however meant she knew something, or was intent on finding answers to the questions the envelope posed. She was probably the most suited to that job Ruby reflected, given the resources at her command now.

Well, that destroyed her plans for the night. She couldn't confirm her guess right away, and no matter what the true answer was she had no control over it right then. So what else was there for her that evening?

* * *

Grudgingly Weiss had to admit the shopping trip had been good for her. It had taken two hours to stop worrying about what was going on beyond the walls and enjoy the company, but once she did she felt a weight begin to lift she hadn't known was there. It had been there so long she had simply considered it part of who she was, its continued growth unnoticed.

Even her breathing felt lighter now. The first time she laughed took her by surprise. She couldn't remember the last one to pass her lips, and she heard Ruby's and another light touched her heart.

Yes, Ruby had been right. They needed this time off. And she was still going to be of help to Phoenix while she was in town. Blake was right as well; the mess with Whicker Mining was going to require more skill than Daniel had. It would be a good learning experience for him and a good change of gears for her.

Helping Phoenix, aside from helping out a friend, was furthering her goals as well. The more freedom the faunus had, the fewer options her father would be able to exploit. It would force him to do what was right simply to keep SDC competitive.

It had been a long time since she had sat in on a meeting, and this one was reminding her of when Phoenix first truly began. The biggest change from then was the number of humans in the circle. Back then only RWBY had been in the mix, and they had only been in advisory positions and barely accepted.

Today while the core leaders were still, by some miracle, the same, many of their seconds were not. Among them, and including the exchequer, there were humans. If you looked at the rest of the membership you would also find about twenty percent of them were human, and growing.

It was one of the things Weiss respected the most. Humans were actively recruited here, keeping a balance. Not only was it improving Phoenix's acceptability by the public, it was reminding its members that not all humans were the enemy. The anger that had infiltrated White Fang was not going to find purchase here.

Blake, whether she admitted it or not, was proven yet again to be the leader the faunus movement needed.

There was one member missing of the White Wing, and she shouldn't have been. Blake was nervous, and Weiss didn't blame her. Velvet was rarely not available, and always present at meetings. Even as out of touch as Weiss had become she knew that much.

It was being ignored however. As much as it could be ignored at least.

There were three major problems in the works that was taking priority. The one in Vacuo hit too close to home. Aside from being close from their days as part of RWBY, Yang was her sister in law. She felt that bond that connected them by their mutual love for Ruby.

 _Oh god, Ruby is going to lose it if she finds out,_ was Weiss's first thought when hearing the details. Blake had the same mindset and cautioned bringing it up to her wife. Ideally there are never any secrets between spouses. That required an ideal world however, and this world was not it.

She didn't have anything to add to that however. Alice had that in hand, along with the trouble, whatever kind of trouble that was, that JNPR was dealing with. Like everyone else sitting at the table she wanted more information to go on than a report that was mostly purposeful misdirection, and no clear ideas what the real message was.

That faunus had too much on her plate, and they said she needed time off.

Weiss was sure that Blake thought her part was simply to catch Daniel after the meeting to discuss his troubles, but she had other ideas. Stopping Whicker Mining was going to be a multi-wing effort to combat. Financially everything was handled as well as it could be. Overwhelming capital was impossible to defeat when faced on its own field of combat. The most that could be done was to slow it down.

She made sure to congratulate Daniel on that. She didn't want her coming in to help to damage his confidence or undermine his position. If he had as much training as Weiss did she had no doubts that he would be the better one at business.

No, Weiss was going to call in the PR, Defense, and Demonstration wings to make a collaborative effort. All should have been fairly obvious actually. Phoenix had grown large enough they didn't need to fear negative reception any longer. Not to the degree they did in the early days. Because of that Simon's wing could act more directly as an offensive weapon, not simply defensive.

They were going to take the fight back at Whicker by making sure everyone knew exactly what they were doing and why. Contrary to what it would appear to be on the surface there was more faunus supporters than the fear mongers would have you believe. A negative blitz would cause a huge cut into their profits and them acting this reckless was giving them the opportunity to do exactly that. They were practically doing the work for them.

The Demonstrations wing was going to work in concert, allowing people to express their anger at these attacks. They were going to draw in more than simply Phoenix's feathers, which would be large enough, but hopefully a large portion of the populace as well. It could go so far as being a recruitment opportunity bolstering their numbers with both faunus and human alike. Again, Whicker was doing their job for them.

The Defense wing was possibly the least obvious. Naturally they were going to keep doing what they had been: protecting businesses and those at the rallies. What would be new was protecting the employees of Whicker Mining. They couldn't afford for the anger to overflow and cause that kind of violence. It would ruin all the possible benefits and reduce Phoenix to nothing but another hate group like White Fang. Instead they will make themselves look better than their predecessor as well as the ones they were fighting.

It was a good plan, and one quickly agreed upon. Alice chimed in offering to have her operatives look for more dirt for Simon to work with in his coming media firestorm, but it was turned down. If they were caught with their hand in that cookie jar it would almost be as bad as an attack on Whicker. And again, Whicker was giving them enough ammo on their own.

The discussion that followed as they coordinated their efforts lasted well into the night. Alice, having nothing to add, made her leave not long into it, leaving her second, a human named Phil, to keep notes and tell her what happened while she dealt with Yang's issues.

Blake made her leave not long after that, heading towards Alice's office. It wasn't anything that Weiss worried about. She had business to do.

* * *

The silence was killing her! Ruby's earlier relief at having time to herself had gotten old in relatively short order. She checked in on Weiss, but found her wife busy and seemingly happy. She was definitely excited. There was no chance of having her company anytime soon.

Neither the vid screen nor sound system would be delivered until tomorrow, giving her no options to break the monotony. There was only one thing to do then. Getting dressed she headed to a BDSM club frequented by her and Weiss named Deviations. It was a place where they could find people that shared the unconventional interests with a certain level of anonymity. There were friends there she hadn't seen in a long time as well. Ones not connected to grimm, or Phoenix, or fighting in general.

The club had multiple sections. The front half, or the public drinking area, was a bar in feel though there was no alcohol on tap beyond their virgin counterparts, and all other forms of drugs were actively looked for and removed by the alert and competent security of the establishment. It was one of the selling points for Ruby who had never gotten a taste for either. She liked to remain in control too much. Weiss missed having access to her wine when she came, but she understood the reasons.

This was the portion she was looking forward to tonight. The back half, which was where shows of an erotic nature were held, she only would go see with Weiss normally. Upstairs was the play area. There was no reason to go there without Weiss in Ruby's mind.

If it wasn't for the multiple rows of cars the outside of the building would look nearly abandoned. There were no signs to proclaim its existence, and the windows were purposely blacked out from outside viewing.

Once she came through the front door her membership ID was checked. Being a huntress the vetting process for getting it had been easy. Being easily identified by her emblem, her police record was public and quick to locate on any scroll. The difficult part had been proving that she was going to fit in. For that she had had Nora to vouch for her, who was already a member. How Nora found the place Ruby would rather not think about.

Once she was past that checkpoint she walked into the club proper. The music, already noticeable from the bouncer's desk, hit her in the face when she went through the doors. Immediately to her right was a changing room for those who wanted to put on clothes appropriate for the location but not for the streets outside. She passed those without a second thought. Her current clothing was what she always wore. It was Weiss who would have needed changing had she been with her.

It really didn't feel right not having her there. While she wanted to see her friends this had also always been 'their' place. Their little secret life the outside world would never know. She was tempted to call Weiss again, on the off chance she was free but stopped herself. She knew her wife, and she knew that right at that point she would be so deep into planning that she probably wouldn't even notice her scroll ringing.

Noting how many new faces were in the building she walked directly to the bar where a couple of her friends were already noting her presence and smiling. How long had it been? Six months? It was amazing they still remembered her.

"Where's your pet?" Sally asked when she was in earshot above the music.

Grinning despite the pang the reminder of Weiss's absence caused, Ruby replied "busy tonight, but I'll drag her along next time whether she wants to or not."

"Preferably 'or not,'" Paul replied with a matching grin. "That's a shame though. Sasha and Faux Bear are performing tonight. I know how you two enjoy watching their shows." Faux Bear was obviously not his real name. Ruby didn't know his real name. No one did except those who vetted him. That's part of the anonymity the club gave. Ruby was fairly sure Sasha's real name wasn't Sasha for that matter.

Neither Ruby nor Weiss bothered hiding their names. Their faces were too well known for it to stick unless they wore masks, which Ruby hated, and she refused to have Weiss do anything Ruby wasn't willing to do herself.

That did bother Ruby however. She did love their shows. While borderline erotic, maybe beyond that border for anyone with the proper appreciation of the male body, they were also imaginative and beautiful. It fueled her own imagination, which is why watching it with Weiss was so enjoyable.

 _What the heck. Maybe I'll get some ideas for tonight when she gets home,_ Ruby decided. "When does it start?"

* * *

Ruby started awake to the sound of an unfamiliar voice. She recognized the feel of her bed, and the light was still dark from her window so it was night, but she couldn't remember coming home. The last clear memory she had was getting up from the show to head back to the bar area. It had been a good show she had to admit and it did give her a lot of ideas.

Then the words from the voice registered. "Your bitch ass is mine."

Looking around she saw someone she hadn't seen in person for years. She had only been a presence on the news standing feet from her father during one of his news conferences. The ones that Weiss would watch religiously. The ones of her father.

"Winter!" Ruby yelled in shock. "What are you doing in my room?"

Self-consciously she started to wrap her sheet around her naked body until she realized that she had pulled the sheet off of her partner. Quickly moving to recover Weiss she stopped mid-reach when the other person's black hair registered.

"I repeat, your ass is mine."

Winter started dropping pictures on the floor, showing in detail events she couldn't remember from that night. They were definitely taken to highlight Ruby's pure enjoyment as she performed acts reserved only for Weiss in the middle of their bed.

The pictures continued afterwards changing over to earlier in the morning when Ruby had found and hidden the envelope. "And here's the best part," Winter continued. The pictures continued, now showing Blake's arrival and subsequent hiding of the envelope on her part. "I need to give these to my sister. It's in her best interest and my duty as family."

Ruby wasn't naïve. She knew Winter was going to blackmail her. "Your ass is mine" pretty much said it all. It was a question of what she was going to be forced to do or risk losing it all.

And she knew that this could cost her everything. Their relationship was already strained. One day of relative sanity and peace wasn't going to repair that strain. Sadly it wasn't the evidence of her cheating that could destroy their relationship. Damage it sure, but it could be repaired.

The envelope however... Weiss would never trust her after that. Ruby knew that from the depths of her soul.

What locked it was Blake being caught doing the same thing to her wife. What Weiss would do with that loss of trust Ruby wasn't sure, but her thoughts were decidedly dark on the possibilities. The worst, and would be in her future nightmares, was Weiss disappearing into the woods and never coming back.

"I won't let you hurt Weiss," Ruby said in barely suppressed rage.

She may have the evidence of what would destroy Weiss, but apparently Winter wasn't aware of which piece that was. She pressed her advantage on the one that was merely damaging. "Kathy dear, please remind the slut what a good girl she was to you tonight," Winter instructed.

The stranger behind her, Kathy, casually obeyed. "Well it was a dull night at Deviations, and it emptied pretty early. Then this pretty little thing came up, bought me a soda, and commented on what a boring night it was. Well, I didn't have many options, and she was cute so if figured what the hell..."

"You're lying," Ruby interrupted quickly, her voice shaking. "Weiss would never believe you." She wasn't sure if Kathy was lying, to be honest. Ruby knew she wouldn't do that. She was, and always had been, faithful to Weiss. But then there were those pictures...

Winter was enjoying herself, picking up one of the more telling pictures from the floor. "Are you sure?"

Defeated, Ruby repeated "I won't let you hurt Weiss."

"I'm glad to hear it, my good little bitch," Winter gloated over Ruby's tears.

* * *

 _Author's note:  
_ _Well, this is the first time I was blunt on this aspect of Weiss and Ruby's love life in either of the books. It's been canon for a while as can be seen in Deleted Scenes, and there are some hints of it in Senior Year. I debated on keeping the hints subtle on this chapter as well, but given the way the two worlds interacted it just didn't make sense. I tried anyways, and it was horrid.  
_

 _And no this is not, under any circumstance, going to devolve into some cliche of Ruby becoming a victim and obeying Winter without thinking. She's smarter than that, and tougher than that. Right now she's just in shock (And a bit drugged still). Where it does go from here though will be interesting._

 _02/20/2016 - Edited for grammar (again with thanks to the review for pointing them out). I am also moving the rating up to M, which it should have been to start with. I think I got the ratings messed up in my head on what T represented.  
_


	9. The Maddening Calm

In a bit of annoyance Nora punched her stomach a couple of times as another hunger pang hit. To the outside world, all three of them, Nora was maintaining her good cheer. Being down wasn't going to help anyone, herself included. Being angry was going to make it even worse.

How long had it been? Six days since Ren started work on the communication tower? It had only been two days ago that it had started working. By everyone's estimation it would take another two more before any help had a chance to reach them.

That wasn't long under normal circumstances, even in the siege they had found themselves in. The trouble was they had already been low on food when they arrived at the facility. Even under tight rationing it had only lasted two days into it. That meant it was now day four without a morsel to eat.

Hunting and foraging had been their lifeline during their travels, and something they had grown to count on. Inside this mining town there was no hunting, and nothing to forage. The only saving grace was the well she had found their first night here. Nora suppressed a shudder, remembering the condition both Weiss and Ruby had been in when they had been forced to go without water after a crash. She was glad that fate would be spared them at least.

Trying to remain on the positive Nora reflected that even in worse case scenarios they would have a month before things became deadly for them. They'd be extracted by then and she was going to have pancakes to celebrate their return. (with extra syrup!)

 _No, don't think about syrup,_ Nora told herself as she felt a wave of nausea hit.

The siege itself hadn't changed. Every once in a while a pack of beowulfs would invade; probably just to make sure they stayed aware of their predicament. They were still easy enough to kill, but eventually their team was going to get worn down. The reaper, and Nora was sure it was the same one, continued to poke his head up long enough for them to know he was still around.

The only real change had been the small nevermores. It could be that they had run out of the smaller ones or they had grown tired of having them shot down, but regardless they had stopped. Instead two large ones the size of a bullhead had taken permanent residence in the air above.

The first time Pyrrha had taken a shot at one of them they were made very aware of what a fish in a barrel feels like when getting shot at. Two volleys from their wings with few places to hide and less space to run was enough to make it clear that plan was unwise.

With that reminder of Pyrrha she took a look up at the blind she had erected to watch for any intruders. They were taking it in six hour shifts. Those occasional incursions made that a requirement. It was her turn, and as expected Jaune was directly under her blind, apparently napping. He wasn't fooling anyone.

Ren had become absolutely no fun, but he was also the least affected by their captivity. If he wasn't sleeping, he was doing his stint as lookout. If he wasn't acting as a lookout he was searching the ruins for clues about the dust. If he wasn't doing any of that he was meditating. That was it. He had no other outlets, none of them did, but his meditations seemed to be keeping him more centered.

And it was leaving her with absolutely nothing to do! Sure, she could talk to Jaune and Pyrrha, and she still did, but it wasn't the same. Even if he didn't say much Ren normally managed to say just the right thing when she needed it, and she could tell he was listening. The other two tuned half of what she said out and acted like she wouldn't notice.

Then there was the lovey-dovey stuff. All of their friends referred to them as "broken from the world." In other words nothing, no matter how bad, seemed to affect their relationship. No fighting, no friction, and rarely a disagreement that wasn't quickly compromised on.

In short to medium doses it was adorable. A bit more of her faith in humanity restored with every minute. That faith had passed the overflowing point a couple of days ago. Now it was just nauseating, even by her standards.

Then there was what they were doing when not on duty, sleeping, and eating. They normally they weren't that bad, but apparently it was their distraction for the tension. Now they were like the proverbial rabbits. At least they looked for places away from camp for their frequent romps, but it couldn't be too distant in case another round of fighting started.

It made her envious of Ren's meditation. He had tried to teach her many times over the years, but she couldn't get her mind to calm down and find this mysterious "center" he kept telling her about. The more she tried to still her thoughts the more things occurred to her.

She needed to find something to do!

* * *

"Why are you here again?" Coco asked. She still looked annoyed, not that Velvet blamed her. Two days of venting wasn't going to be enough. "There are way too many reasons you shouldn't have come."

Both Fox and Yatsuhashi were quietly ignoring the conversation. It was probably the smartest move on their part. Fox's last attempt to placate their leader hadn't gone well. Now he simply sat in the pilot's seat and flew with his eyes straight ahead.

There was actually only one reason for her not to be there: her position in Phoenix. That was without a doubt a very good reason and trumped every excuse she had to stow away on the bullhead. It would if she was being both reasonable and responsible that is, which she wasn't.

And truth was she didn't regret it, regardless of Coco's anger. It felt good to be going into the field again. This was a relatively safe mission and she had trained to be a huntress for several reasons. Sitting in board meetings wasn't anywhere on that list.

She also had missed her friends. Yatsuhashi and her used to be so close. She'd had a crush on him almost since the day they first met, though she had always been too shy to admit it to the gentle giant. Fox was always good to have around for a laugh. And Coco herself... she was the person Velvet respected more than any other person alive, including Blake.

Even this scolding was enjoyable in its perverse way, reminding her of the days when they trained together. Coco could be a real drill master then too.

Answering Coco's question with "I was bored," had been the worst of the responses she had used so far. "I missed the fighting" hadn't been much better. Both were attempts at lightening the mood, which she knew would be worthless at the time.

Velvet had always been a timid creature, much like the rabbits her faunus features portrayed. A passive-aggressive answer was normal for her, or an attempt at a diffusing joke. It was the worst way to go with the much more direct Coco who only became more annoyed by those attempts.

"Coco, I haven't been in the field since training at Beacon," the faunus began, trying to answer on her friend's level, difficult though it was. "I don't miss it, but I do miss why I was there to start with, and who I was with. I know I do good work at Phoenix, but there are others more qualified. My very tendency to avoid verbal conflicts gets in the way of that job. If I somehow die in this mission, or any other mission, Phoenix will survive."

If she had approached Coco with that argument to start with rather than hiding on their plane until they were too far away to make turning around an option this might have been a smoother flight so far, assuming she'd been allowed to come.

"Landing at outpost S528 in five," Fox reported from the cockpit, letting everyone know they were going to be landing for a refuel and resupply.

Still giving Velvet the evil glare over her shades Coco replied "Roger that. Give the usual cover story to the locals."

"Of course."

"The usual cover story" was pretty close to an exact repetition of what Jaune had reported to them. In the middle of grimm infested forests it got boring, and bored people gossip. When you worked the communications area you gossiped with those you talked to the most: the communications officers in other facilities. By now there was a good chance that they knew about Jaune's team needing extracted to help get "Summer" out of there. No point reinventing the wheel.

The interesting thing, and something that Velvet would be reporting when they got back to Vale, was the difference in the facilities they were stopping at to refuel from how they had been. The statistics had been steadily improving, but how trustworthy those numbers were is questionable. After Simon had started posting those numbers all over the media sites it had quickly become corporate policy for most companies to out-right lie to get better reports.

With only a couple of exceptions however the facilities were now well protected and the faces were happier. It was still a dangerous job, and something only a desperate man with few options would go out to do, but it was better than being dropped in the middle of the woods with no food or weapons.

It told her that yes, Phoenix was doing good.

"We're not done yet," Coco said one last time as they all started getting ready for the coming landing. Velvet knew that perfectly well however.

* * *

Nora stood in complete shock, watching what was a literal impossibility with an equally dumbstruck Ren right beside her.

"Pyrrha, I know you're trying to take care of me, but stop it would you?" Jaune was saying with a bit of heat. "I don't need you coddling me anymore. If you think my idea is bone headed, tell me."

While Jaune's voice was starting to get angrier, Pyrrha's had only dropped in further depression. "I'm sorry Jaune."

"No, not 'I'm sorry.' You know I can read you better than that! You are sorry, but you also think that I'm being dumb. Could you just say that?"

For all that her friends still thought of her as the relationship whisperer, Nora had never seen this one coming. They were too perfect for something so minor to get to them.

Pyrrha visibly shrank in on herself at the continued rebuttal. "But you're the one in charge..."

"And right now we're not fighting anything. There is no need for a command chain when making decisions. I need the truth!"

Pyrrha shifted her eyes to their two very awkward observers, then back to Jaune. "I... I can't..."

Part of Nora couldn't help being annoyed at both of them. Jaune was demanding for Pyrrha to be more involved in their decisions, yet he was still acting like Nora didn't have a brain, though that wasn't entirely fair and she knew it. First, she cultivated the image of being an airhead. How else was she going to expect to be treated? Second, Jaune's over-cautioning wasn't unreasonable right now. A single missed cue would be all it would take to get them killed right now.

Still, the double standard here was beyond annoying.

As for Pyrrha, it was dumb but all Nora could think was _really?_ She couldn't think of a single bad thing to say about Jaune? According to poets and bad writers love is blind. In reality if you couldn't notice that your lover isn't perfect you're deluding yourself.

"You can. I will make it an order if I have to," Jaune countered his wife, then stopped dead realizing what he'd just let slip. The anger did not leave his face, but shame became its roommate. "I'm sorry..."

"No. I understand Jaune," Pyrrha said steadily, then turned and left. All Jaune did was watch his wife's retreating back with a look of shock.

Nora looked over at Ren, who nodded. Nodding back Nora picked her way after Pyrrha, leaving Ren to talk to Jaune as agreed upon by that silent communication.

 _It's the stress,_ Nora told herself unnecessarily. _Once we're out of here things will return to normal._ While true, it also was showing there was a crack in the foundation of her friends' perfect relationship. A small one, granted, and every relationship had them. This one was going untreated however, and ignoring even the smallest of cracks and letting it grow can lead to the entire structure being damaged.

She wasn't going to allow that to happen. Ren was the better person to talk to Jaune for two reasons. The main reason is Jaune didn't need to be talked to; he needed to have a sounding board he felt comfortable with. For whatever reason he seemed to be the most at ease with Ren. Maybe it's a male thing? Whatever, it didn't matter so long as it works.

The other reason is she didn't want her own annoyance with Jaune to become a factor. Like this little tiff between the lovers it was fueled more by what was going on around them than the problem itself.

No matter how upset Pyrrha was always aware of the situation, and as such it didn't surprise Nora when she only went a short distance so the group wasn't spread out. It did surprise her when she found the auburn beauty in tears. There was a lot of emotional scar tissue beneath the surface, but though scarred it was healed, or so Nora had thought.

Looking up from the spot she had sat, Pyrrha's lost expression was inescapable. "What do I do?" her friend asked.

Normally Nora saw these things coming. Far more often than any of her friends did at least. Not being prepared this time left her feeling flat footed. _Well, first thing is to get my bearings in this conflict,_ Nora reasoned. "He is right, you do avoid saying anything negative about him," she told her friend, hoping it would spur the shield maiden to explaining what was going on in her head.

Pyrrha nodded unhappily. "I don't know how to..." She paused for a moment, looking for words. Nora took the opportunity to sit down next to her and offer a shoulder. Some women would have found it awkward to hold a lesbian for comfort, though not as bad as a guy would with a gay man.

Her friend wasn't one of them, and she gladly accepted the proposed spot for her head. Nothing further was said for a while, letting the emotions from the fight to calm down. _This is what that bastard out there wants,_ Nora thought savagely. _We all knew it was inevitable, no matter how tight knit we are, that the pressure would get to us._

When Pyrrha's breathing at last returned to normal Nora asked cautiously "so are you ready to talk about it?"

Nora hadn't been around at the start of the fight, so she didn't know what had triggered it. All she knew was he had gotten tired of Pyrrha's yes-man mentality. So what "bone headed" idea he had was equally unknown. That wasn't what she was asking about however, and Pyrrha knew it.

"Remember back in our days at Beacon, how unsure Jaune was?" Nora nodded once, waiting for more. "I didn't help. I took command nearly every time when things got rough."

Instantly the rest of Pyrrha's reasoning became clear, even if it lacked a certain level of logic. That's emotions for you though. "So you're afraid of stepping on his toes more?"

With a nearly timid expression Pyrrha confirmed "I don't want to keep hurting him."

Nora suppressed a sigh, but just barely. Women! "You realize how long ago that was, don't you?"

"But..."

She wasn't going to let Pyrrha sidestep her way out of this discussion, so she continued over the interruption with "and you realize he's grown into a great man since then, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"And he's been a competent leader long enough to be comfortable with the role, right?" _Sometimes too comfortable,_ Nora added to herself.

"Right, but..." This time Nora didn't interrupt. She was curious what was going to come after 'but.' Nothing did. Pyrrha just stared back with a bewildered look in her eyes.

"I'd recommend that you stop looking down at him, if I were you," Nora recommended. "Men's prides are fragile. That kind of pity is only going to hurt it." Since saving his pride seemed to be part of the problem she expected that to have double the impact than it normally would.

"I don't..." Again Nora waited, wondering if she was going to defend that she wasn't, or if she was going to be honest with herself and admit she was.

She wasn't going to get an answer to her curiosity however as back in the encampment Jaune yelled clearly in his command voice "Beowulfs!" Without stopping to give it a thought both ladies were on their feet running with their weapons drawn.


	10. Bird Watching

Three days ago Alice had woken up to a picture sent to her by Yang on her scroll. Given the fear Blake had shown at the thought of Yang knowing she was being spied on, Alice had expected it to be a complete debacle when it happened. Well regardless of what her boss may have thought of the possibility, Alice thought the brawler had done an excellent job for something outside of her skill set.

After the first day of her wing's research she had known this guy was either very new or very good, and very good wasn't likely. If he had been good enough to go completely unnoticed by law enforcement he wouldn't have been caught by Yang.

No matter how good you become, you start as a beginner. At that level you will get caught. Hawk, who was marked as among the best in the game had been caught three times, the first time for a simple pick pocket. The only way you wouldn't be found is if someone had gone back to remove those tracks from public records. As Alice could say from experience, that took a lot of money. More than it was worth normally unless your family had a name to protect, like hers did.

No, this guy was new. He didn't have any records in any of the law enforcement databases she had her fingers in. After five years of working at getting access, she had almost all of them now.

What disturbed Alice the most was he didn't show in Vacuo's police records. The first day that might have made sense. On the second day however he should have been in for the current breaking and entering charge if for no other reason. It had been possible he might have escaped before getting brought to the station and thus avoided getting put into the system, but not likely. And if that had been the case he had to have been scared off by Yang because he hadn't returned.

Today she knew who he was. Of all things the information had been from Vacuo's food services. His mother, Wanda Green, had applied for a food stipend based on financial hardship when Jacob was still an infant. He had stayed on that account until he was too old to qualify as her dependent three years ago. After that he dropped off the face of the planet.

Alice had wondered if he might have been snatched up by one of the many other spy networks out there. It made sense. He had been a model citizen up until he disappeared, which is why it was so hard to find anything about him beyond the basics. The only solid piece of information was he had been broke. Broke people did what it took to survive. They did even more for those they loved. After he disappeared his homeless mother had found herself an untraceable source of money and was now living among Vacuo's middle class.

 _If that's what happened I may be forced to respect him,_ Alice thought.

Considering the lack of education he had up until that point and the skill he showed when stalking Yang it had to have been good training. _Hmmmm... Are there any organizations that would train spies like that? I don't think so. Not of this quality at least. So odds are it's something private. That smacks of corporate money then._

Alice didn't like that thought. Not at all. Phoenix was earning a lot of enemies in the corporate sector. Whicker Mining was only the latest entrant. She would need to dig up what information she could on the major players and see who would qualify to go at them in such a subtle manner.

She hadn't created as much of an information web in the corporate sector as she had with the rest of the world. Blake wanted to avoid any form of corporate sabotage, or to do anything that could be traced back to them and made to look like attempted sabotage. While that made sense, it also had limited her.

She could get a better lay of the land through Daniel and Weiss. This was more on their side of the playing field, and she would be talking to them. The trouble was they were preoccupied with the coming conflict with Whicker. _I'll talk to Sasha, Daniel's second,_ Alice decided. _That way I'm not splitting their attention when things are so intense over there right now._

Intense was a nice way to put it. Weiss was a scary woman when she decided she wanted to squash an opponent.

Her parents were another good source of information. As much trouble as she'd caused them she hated to return to them and ask for help, but then again they already were in Phoenix's back pocket by their own choice. They were staying out of Alice's sight while doing it, or trying to, but the influx of money four years ago was hard to miss.

 _I think Blake will be happy not to have to hide that chair in her private office anymore,_ she thought with amusement as she pulled out her scroll. Pushing the call button she waited for the answer. "Hey mom." As cool as she liked to play things Alice couldn't stop a tear from bubbling up at those two words. Two words which had gone unspoken for too long.

* * *

Looking across the table Alice had trouble meeting her father's eyes. She felt no shame for the life she had chosen. It was more suited to her personality. While at first it had been for selfish reasons it had led her to Phoenix, perhaps the most influential movement on the planet for faunus rights. Arguably more important than sympathetic corporations like the Whitmore conglomerate that her father ran.

Jonathan had never said a bad word about her choices that she was aware of. It was possible that he didn't hold it against her regardless of the difficulty her life had caused him and the emotional pain. That was what bothered her most: the pain. She loved her parents deeply. How could she look either in the eyes knowing she had willingly gone against everything they stood for?

Despite that he was looking at her with an embarrassing amount of pride in his eyes right now. Her mother was holding his hand and looking with an equal amount of joy at being so close to their daughter again. Coco, a friend of the family, had been very clear that they had only praised her to their friends and spoken only of their regret that they were not closer. That only seemed to add to her guilt.

The charade had ended on their involvement with Phoenix. She wanted... She wasn't sure what she wanted. Did she want to get to business and end this meeting quickly and escape the uncomfortable feeling in her chest? Or did she want to reminisce with them about the past and catch up with what has happened since they parted ways?

No, what she wanted to do was beg for their forgiveness. She knew that. She felt no shame for doing what she had done, but she still wanted their blessing. She was twenty-six years old and still trapped as the sixteen year old who had run away from home a decade earlier.

Clearing her throat, Blake broke the silence. "You said you have some information for us Jonathan?" She asked gently, leaning into the chair newly relocated to the meeting room given to her by him. It looked overly opulent for her Alice thought.

Forced to take his eyes off Alice, her father nodded at her boss. "Alice..." He looked nervous for a second as he glanced back to his daughter. "Ms. Greychild asked if we had any information on corporate spies we could part with you."

Greychild. A surname she had taken as an ironic joke, being the black sheep in the family. That might have been what hurt her parents the most. She hadn't thought of it that way at the time, but it must have felt like a complete rejection of them when Alice had made that change.

Appearing unaware of her thoughts he continued, "We have a greater network in that area than you do. I understand you want to avoid the possibility of it being used against you, but ours is well established and predates Phoenix's existence. If our operatives are caught there would be a minimal backlash on you so it makes sense to use them."

Blake nodded her understanding and waited. "Every major company has a black ops department for the same reasons Phoenix does, and all of the major players are generally aware of what the other companies are up to because of that. Generally. If we aren't specifically looking for something a company may be able to hide something. I think we may have found one thanks to Ms Grey-"

"Alice," their daughter interrupted, unable to hear the false name uttered from his lips again.

"Alice," he repeated. Did her tough-as-nails father just choke up a little bit? "She got us to look for secret training facilities. They exist of course, but we found one that is a secret even from their own company. If we hadn't hunted down references to 'Jacob Green' we would never have found it."

A confused look crossed Blake's face. "What do you mean it was a secret from its own company?"

"That gets complicated, but let's say that even its own board of directors and CEO didn't know it existed, nor its own internal spy network. The only connection is the money being funneled into it and the personnel roster. We followed the money trail back to its source: Winter Schnee."

That didn't alleviate Blake's confusion. "Weiss's sister?"

"It's a small division. It had to be to stay under the radar, and it started three years ago from what we can tell. Five operatives were being trained. Their training ended last year."

"This Jacob was one of them obviously, and given that he was attached to Yang she's after Phoenix with them..." Blake's face was bunched up in thought, trying to work through the possibilities. She looked over at Alice. "Do you think we should bring Weiss in on this? She understands how her sister thinks."

Alice shrugged. "You know her better than I do. Setting siblings against each other can be dicey and rarely pretty."

"Winter set herself against Weiss if she's after Phoenix and Winter knows it. I'm not sure it's wise to oblige her though," Blake said doubtfully.

Alice's mom, Scarlett, answered, "I wouldn't," she started. She was speaking to blake, but her gaze was directly at Alice. "Whether it's Winter's choice or not doesn't matter. Helping her set them at odds will only hurt your friend."

That need to beg for forgiveness went up three fold in Alice. Leave it to a mother to know exactly how to apply guilt.

"I'll ask Ruby's opinion," Blake decided. "Do we know the names of the other four operatives?"

Jonathan shook his head. "Only three of them, one in each kingdom. The last is a mystery. I'm thinking she is sickly. She's been in and out of the hospital regularly since she started. We can't find out why for sure though."

Alice doubted this mystery woman was sickly. It would be a waste of training on anyone that infirm, which only deepened the mystery of her existence.

"What about Hawk? Is he mixed in with this?" Blake asked.

Her father let out his first laugh. Just as she remembered it was filled with good humor and warmth. "That's the one thing I can say for sure. He's not involved. He's been playing the game since before Winter was born and while I can't say for sure who he works for, I can say it isn't for any of the corporate powers out there. We've been looking."

Alice had avoided speaking with her parents since her first call, so this was news to her as well. Two spies dog fighting out there over Yang, one of their bosses was still an unknown and both of their motives were a mystery.

The plan had been going on for four years on Winter's side however. That was before Phoenix's rise to a level of power that corporations would take notice. Was it personal then? If that was the case Phoenix might not be the final target after all. That no one in the company knew about it, including her own father apparently, was the most disturbing part.

This was getting complicated. Alice was starting to get the itch to pick a pocket or two in the relatively freeing environment of the anonymous dark alley. It was a simple life back then with no sense of responsibility.

 _I ran from responsibility back then. I guess I have grown up some._

* * *

A small smile was trying to play with the corners of her lips as Blake headed towards her office. Alice had been a bundle of nerves and conflicted emotions, but she had also been happy under it all. Blake was glad that Alice had asked for the help her parents would freely give, but what she had most enjoyed most was watching that family bond be reforged.

It even beat out getting that chair out of her office finally.

That enjoyment hadn't washed clean the unease of what the Whitmore's had to say. She had known Phoenix was going to call many enemies upon it. She had known that the Schnee Dust company would be one of the largest. She hadn't expected for it to be Winter leading the charge and going about it in a way that would almost inevitably involve Weiss.

She wished she could spare Weiss the heartache this fight would cause. Was it cowardly to turn to Ruby first, and to fervently hope her friend had a good reason to avoid bringing it to Weiss? Her heart ached at the thought. It had been four years since their wedding, and four years since Weiss had any interaction with her sister. It was long enough to accept their relationship would likely never be repaired, but at least it wasn't outright war.

Maybe it won't come to that. At least Blake hoped it wouldn't.

Up ahead Thompson was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, eyes following her as she approached. "Want some company?" he asked casually once she was within easy earshot. His eyes had already searched her face. What he got from that search was questionable. Her expression still lacked a large display of emotions, but he was getting better at seeing the subtle signs it did show.

With an indifferent shrug she said "I wouldn't mind." That was neither the truth nor a lie. She was conflicted because her next move was to make that call to Ruby. She wanted the reassuring presence he would represent, but she also wanted to keep it private.

Her defense chief must have read her right. "Well, maybe as far as my office. It's on the way to yours." That was the best option from her point of view. She would get some of the comfort but still have the privacy when talking to one of her oldest friends.

He stayed quiet at first, remaining just a comforting presence at her side. She hoped it wasn't clear to anyone who passed by them how bad she wanted to lean into him. She remembered watching Jaune and Pyrrha walking side by side. Even when they weren't paying attention to each other their connection was unmistakable.

Did she have that kind of bond with Thompson? Did she want that kind of closeness? Most importantly, could she... could Phoenix afford that kind of intimacy among its leaders?

"I take it it was a disturbing meeting," her man... her friend said, interrupting her thoughts. "You seem happy, but I figure that's only to be expected now that Alice is finally talking to her folks. That means whatever else was talked about was decidedly unhappy for you not to have a smile everyone else would recognize."

Blake nodded slowly. "The SDC just became a major factor. You should talk to Alice after they're done in there. I think we might want to tighten security internally, at least for the time being."

"Easy enough to do." Blake realized she was more distracted than she thought when she felt herself get pulled Thompson's into his office; the action knocking her off balance for a second. Had they walked that far already? Feeling his arms wrap around her she tensed up for a second. Could she afford this? "Ssssh," he whispered into her ear. "Just relax for a minute before you go do whatever you have to do that's putting your stomach in a knot."

Involuntarily she tensed up even more at the realization of just how easily he was reading her. It shouldn't have been a surprise. They've known each other for five years now. She was prone to leaning on him more than she liked in times like these. He would know the signs.

 _Can I afford this?_ she asked herself again. She'd asked it many times in those years, normally without consciously acknowledging that she'd asked it.

Of course he spotted her unspoken need and answered it as he came in for a kiss. Those kisses she loved so much. _I can't afford this,_ she decided, but as that became clear her ability to care if she could or couldn't disappeared. Leaning into the embrace she accepted it and all that it could afford and cost her.

 _Ruby can wait for a few minutes,_ she thought, as she hooked the office door with her toes to swing it closed to the outside world.

* * *

Steven tried not to laugh at the absurdity of the news report. It wasn't seemly.

"Sources confirm that the beloved philanthropist had been fighting cancer for over a year," the anchorman was continuing, "when he finally succumbed to the frightening illness last night." Over a year hmmm? Well, that was when he stopped being as visible to the world, so that was a logical conclusion for when his "sickness" had started.

That he had died last night however... That was either poor reporting or excellent fact manipulation. _Give her another twenty years and she may be playing on my level in fact,_ he reflected, accepting that it had been the latter.

"Councilman Ferris, your three o'clock is here," his secretary announced from the door.

Turning off the vid screen he nodded his understanding. "Thank you Dorris. Have him come in."

Waiting for his chief operative to come in to give his report, the aged councilman wondered if her coming out now was a result of his message to her, or if there was another factor. If she was playing the deep game he expected it was likely both.

* * *

Coughing out a fit of blood Jake limped his way down the street, sticking to the shadows and leaving as little evidence of his passing that he could, but the blood trail was unavoidable. He'd bandaged himself up as well as possible. None of his wounds should leave enough of a trace, but the internal injury that had caused that hacking was persistent.

He couldn't go to the hospital, but if he didn't he was likely to die. There were too many ears in a hospital however. He'd be found. The safe house his former employer had set up for him wasn't an option anymore either.

So that left only one place he could head. His only possible ally.


	11. Guardian and Outlaw

_Well, this is more fun than clubbing,_ Yang thought with a trademark grin for the camera. The smile was convincing because it was the absolute truth as she ducked another swing of an ursa's wild attack. _Too slow. I'm glad he brought a lot of friends!_

There was a reason she was in Vacuo besides running the club scene: her job. She got paid well by several parties. That included her show and the people paying her to kill a grimm infestation. Normally that was a kingdom but sometimes it was a private corporation. She unabashedly took them for all she could. The greed added to her image, it paid for the over-priced monstrosities she was living in in each kindom, and most importantly it helped Phoenix. Actually that last was the only important part.

This time the job was for her favorite customer: A small village trying to survive beyond Vacuo's borders. These villages were the ones most often needing the help of a Huntsman, lacking the protections and fortifications of the established kingdoms. Missions helping them was the reason she became a huntress to start with, and why she only charged them a handshake for her services.

This village was known as Lockhart, named after its founder Ellie Lockhart. Her daughter was apparently a fan of Yang's, having sent a fan mail to ask for help. It was very well written, getting the nod from the people Jeff hired to screen them to reach Jeff's desk, who in turn handed it to her personally. If that nine year old was any indiction her mother was brilliant. On first meeting Yang decided she'd underestimated her, and like Blake her cat ears were quite cute.

Lockhart was cut off from the rest of Vacuo both physically and financially. The ruling council of Vacuo had been clear at the time of the village's founding they could not and would not be able to assist them in such a dangerous and unnecessary venture.

Yang could appreciate the kingdom's stance. If they assisted every half baked attempt at colonizing the wilds they would be spread too thin. It meant even well intended and planned attempts couldn't be helped either. It would only encourage more to throw their lives away.

While she could appreciate the stance, she didn't agree. That's why this was so much fun. She loved giving a proverbial middle finger to bureaucrats who lost track of the value of human life. The only good part was she knew this wasn't another case of faunus prejudice since it was well established Vacuo did it to everyone.

This settlement had originally seemed ideal. Located within a valley, it had clean water, fertile ground at the eastern edge of the basin, and cliffs to act as natural walls on three sides against humanity's natural predator: grimm. For ten years it had been exactly that and had continued to attract more people to move and try their luck at a new beginning.

Then two months ago the east cliff face collapsed and a massive amount of grimm came in the new entrance. Not everyone survived the disaster, but those that did managed to find safe sanctuary back in Vacuo. Now they were trying to return to their homes and lives. To do that they needed to replace the natural wall of the cliff with a man made one, then reinforce the remaining two sides to prevent another such invasion.

And that's why she was here: to provide the security during construction.

It wasn't like Yang was going to do it all on her own. No matter how great a fighter you are you can be overwhelmed, and you couldn't stay vigilant during your sleep. She was just the figure head for the movement. Her face alone attracted more to come to the village's aid, including old friends of hers, like team SSSN who had reformed for this one mission to her great enjoyment.

A basic framework for the wall was going to take a week. Once that was done the village would be defensible from that breach with only a handful of huntsmen. At that point Yang would be taking her leave and returning to Vale, letting SSSN and company handle the remainder of the job. As much as Yang hated to leave a job half done she wouldn't be needed and her staying would only get in the way because of the camera crews and production workers for Grimm Hunter.

Speaking of SSSN, Yang looked over her shoulder as her last opponent fell to shadowy dust to catch sight of Sun and Cassandra fighting. Those two really did look good together. Briefly she had contemplated reigniting her romance with Sun for the cameras. It would do good for the image. Not only would she be the slut cheating on Jerry again, she'd be the homewrecker of Sun's good relationship which had been stable. It might even work better of Sun rebuffed her attempts.

It couldn't be anything more than that of course, which was a shame. Even if Sun had changed and could accept her lifestyle, Cass was territorial. Even flirting with her old boyfriend would cause trouble. Though she still loved the man, especially because she loved him, she was going to keep her distance.

Neptune, on the other hand, was a welcome physical presence. His confidence was not feigned anymore, and it resonated with her beautifully. Unlike Sun his last girlfriend hadn't worked out. She didn't know why, and Yang didn't need to. She just knew he was available for a little extracurricular play time and emotionally stable enough to laugh off any cameras from obnoxious reporters.

His scars were actually very attractive now. It added a rough edge to his overly polished appearance. Seeing how they had allowed him to grow eased the guilt she had once felt about being their cause.

Jerry certainly approved of him, though how much of that was because he thought Neptune was cute was hard to say. That line of thinking always gave her a chuckle. There were certain advantages to having a bisexual mate. Jerry just had to keep it tucked inside his pants though because unlike him Neptune wasn't a switch-hitter.

It was still up in the air if her and Neptune were going to be able to be more than friends with benefits, but neither were concentrating on it either. It was just good to reconnect.

 _Reconnect..._ Anyone watching, and given the cameras that would be most of the planet, would have wondered why the star had burst into laughter in the middle of a fight for no apparent reason. _Damn I have a dirty mind._

* * *

Life was boring for Jerry without Yang around, or at least that's what they wanted the paparazzi to think. No scandals were to be found except his latest heartbreak over his cheating girlfriend. It allowed for him to move around with only a couple of reporters to worry about at any point in time.

And right now Jerry was at home alone, theoretically, while Yang was out in the field. As alone as a reality star ever is at least. The show's cameras weren't with him, along with all of the production crew. He did have a couple of trusted security guards. Yang could get away without them, he couldn't. Given the recent break-in there was no chance she would risk him being unprotected against another stalker.

Naturally Jeff was still there. While they were taking extra steps to be inconspicuous of their relationship, they weren't going to become celibate. They were laying in Jeff's bed that night, snuggling and watching a bad movie based on a love triangle. Jerry found them hilarious, though he was fairly sure Jeff was tired of them, but he was humoring his boyfriend that night however.

A knock at their bedroom door proceeded one of their guard's voices. "Sir, there's been an attempted break-in from the south entrance. He's been subdued, but..." Harold's voice grew unusually confused. "Well, I think it would be best if you saw this."

"Okay, give me a second to get dressed," Jerry responded. Yawning he paused the vid and started to get dressed, enjoying the feel of his lover's eyes on his body. "Coming with me?" he asked casually.

"That wouldn't be a good idea," Jeff responded. "We don't know who's waiting for you out there. If word gets out that Yang's manager was alone in the same house as her boyfriend people might make the right connection."

"Yeah, I thought so too, but I had to ask." Jerry hated Machiavellian plots. There was too much to keep track of and too many places a small crack could cause the entire structure to crumble. The guards alone was too much of a risk. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Leaving their room he nodded at Harold to lead the way. "He refused medical evac sir," his guard said, his voice sounding stiff from strain.

That was an odd statement, and that vocal strain was only making it weirder. "Two questions: What did you guys do that required a medical evac, and why didn't you send him regardless of his objections? Yang can get away with a lot, but it'll be your careers on the line if you don't give a prisoner proper care."

"He was injured when he got here," the guard said automatically, "And he seemed terrified at the possibility. Since his injuries aren't life threatening we didn't think it was unreasonable to let you know and get your final decision."

Pass the buck up the chain of command in other words. Jerry couldn't blame him. He just wished that the chain of command went higher then him right now. "How injured?"

"That's why we took his fear of going to the hospital seriously. This man was tortured." The tone of voice made it clear that Harold meant the literal definition of torture. "But he's refusing pain medications as well. He said he wanted to remain coherent before he spoke with you."

"Then lets hurry up!" he prompted, moving from a walk into a run.

* * *

In reality Jake didn't know much. Maybe that's why his torturer hadn't asked anything. He knew that he'd been part of a very small organization, only employing four spies all of whom were hired and trained on the same day. He knew each had a handler, and it was their handlers that reported to his boss and were the only ones who actually knew what was going on. Well, they knew more than he did at least.

Obviously this man knew all of that however. When he was done imprinting his message on Jake's flesh the other spy had dropped him at the normal meeting spot for his handler, Charlotte, and sent the coded message to her indicating he had information.

That was actually true, if you decided his body was the information. Through the pain Jake had done everything he could to remember the details of his torment. Not just the man's face, but also the sights and sounds around him that could indicate where he had been. He'd looked for any signs of other people who could be helping. He would have cataloged every question asked of him had there been any.

The only information he had was that he had been compromised. If it had just been Yang it could have been written that he'd just been an overzealous reporter. He even had reporter credentials and a news outlet that was paid off to vouch for him.

He wasn't sure what him being caught meant for his employment, but he wasn't hopeful. Well, after this he had lost his taste for the game anyways. Like many kids watching spy movies and fantasized about being one. He'd seen the corny love stories and he'd seen where once the spy lost its usefulness he was was dead. He hoped for the former and discounted that latter. What was the point of keeping him in the dark? He had nothing he could turn traitor with.

Charlotte had one weakness, and one that he'd been sure she didn't know about. He could read her. When she showed up at the meeting and saw him he knew those weren't stories. When she proposed to bring him to a safe-house to get treated he knew he would never leave it again.

As wounded as he was it didn't take much to yank down on her steering wheel while simultaneously unhooking her seat belt. It was a calculated risk. As injured as he was the impact, even with his seat belt, could have killed him as well. An eighty percent chance of dying is better than one-hundred however.

Two (more) cracked ribs was an acceptable trade to his presumed executioner's caved in head. Unfortunately making the car undrivable was also part of that trade.

How did life turn out this way? That's the question a person's supposed to ask when they reached a low point like this, wasn't it? Jake couldn't. His life had come to this because of his choices and he accepted that without flinching. His choices had brought joy to the only person he cared about, his mom. Without him she may never have survived her early years of grief when dad died. Without him she would still be out on the streets begging with the faunus and the transient instead of living comfortably in Brookside Terrace.

His choices may make this his last night, but they were all choices he would make again for her. He just regretted that she would be on the streets tonight having received his code to go into hiding. Better the streets than dead at the hands of a hitman. She knew the streets. She would live. If he lived he hoped he could help her back to an easier way of living.

Yang's house was an unpredictable place to run, or he hoped it would be. Looking for asylum from the ones you were sent to sabotage was risky and something most wouldn't do in his current situation. He didn't have any information to barter for their good will. All he presented was a possible liability.

For all that Yang was a slutty bitch, she was also a good person. He hoped that would be enough if she got the thumbs up from Jerry. He hoped Jerry would accept his story enough to give that thumbs up.

He had done his research on Yang before starting to shadow her. He knew as much as anyone could which included RWBY. With that information it didn't take much to guess she was helping Phoenix, even if there was no proven paper trail connecting them. Paper trails are easy enough to hide. Then there was her boyfriend, a goat faunus.

There was little doubt he was right. He also knew that yesterday Yang had gone to a small town named Lockhart to eradicate some grimm for her show. The house would be empty, mostly, except for some guards and the man he was going to see.

The front door wasn't an option for several reasons. If he was wrong and this move had been predicted then one of his employer's goons could be waiting for him. Even if it wasn't predicted there was a possibility that another man had been assigned his old post already and would spot him. It was equally possible the person who met him at the door would turn him away thinking he was yet another fan.

He wasn't sure how good the security would be with Yang gone, but he knew the layout of the house. He had a decent chance of at least getting inside before being caught. It was his best option he had decided.

A funny thing about hidden exits: they couldn't be effectively hidden with a guard nearby. This house had one, though he didn't know why beyond guesswork. It was how he'd gotten in last time, and it was as available to him the second time allowing him to quickly get to the kitchen entrance at the back of the property and away from possible outside discovery.

That was as far as he got, being taken down by two brawny men who obviously knew exactly what they were doing. "Jerry Towson, I need to see Jerry Towson." He hoped that between the desperation in his voice and the condition of his body they would listen and not simply call the cops on him again. That hadn't gone well for him last time.

* * *

When Jerry reached the kitchen he understood a lot. He recognized the man from the picture Yang had taken, but he wasn't in nearly the same condition as the last time. One guard was standing over him, ready to react should the man try anything while another was doing first aid on wounds that were sickening to look at. Harold hadn't been exaggerating when he said he looked to have been tortured. Though the one applying first aid had offered medication, repeatedly, for the pain he must be in their prisoner wouldn't accept it. "Not until I finish talking to Mr. Towson," he'd croaked out.

The sight softened the tone of voice he had been preparing to use on the walk. "You have my attention," he said softly. "Do you mind if I call you Jake, or do you prefer Jacob?" With that statement he made it clear they knew who Jacob was. That was about all they knew, but they could let him assume they knew more. It could only help.

"Jake is fine," he answered, though his voice was rough raw sounding.

Nodding his acknowledgement Jerry asked the obvious. "So, why are you here?"

Despite the question being so obvious Jake paused to give the answer serious thought. "I don't have anyplace left that's safe to turn to." The scratchiness of his voice was painful to listen to. Was it from screaming? Likely given how he looked. Jerry didn't blame him for keeping the answers short.

For that reason he was going to give him questions that could answered with yes or no as much as possible. "You're a spy, a young one, and your employer has turned against you since you've been caught," Jerry guessed, though he spoke as if it was a complete certainty. Jake nodded his agreement with the statement however. The thing that statement left open was who caught him. "That means you have information she doesn't want us to know. You're hoping we'll help you in exchange for that information."

It was another statement, but this time it was wrong, or at least Jake's shake of the head said he was. "I don't know enough."

That was disappointing, but an expected possibility. "Then why do you think we'll help you?"

Moving slowly to not give his guards a reason to retaliate the prone man reached for his left eye, then carefully slid a contact to the side revealing a slitted pupil underneath. "We're kin."

Of all the things that could have come up, finding out he was a fellow faunus hadn't been remotely considered. "Why would a faunus work for the SDC?" he asked in surprise, though the answer was obvious enough: money. There were countless faunus working as slave labor around the globe that proved it was enough.

It was Jake's turn to act surprised however. "SDC?"

He really didn't know anything, did he? Not even who he was working for. That was peculiar. Why kill him then, or at least attempt to kill him? And who tortured him? "Let's start from the beginning."

He had already decided to help the man before finding out his heritage. That information gave him more options to do so, provided his story checked out. The protection wing now had certain level of jurisdiction if you interpreted its mandate right, and the black-ops wing was a given. Alice's team would be able to do more with whatever information they could get from Jake than even Jake could guess.

By the end of the week they'd be heading back to Vale. Jerry was going to be sure Jake was with them, and healthy. "Are there any local doctors you can call that will keep this quiet from the authorities?" If anyone would know, it'd be his security chief.

"I know one," he responded instantly.

"Good, bring him in."


	12. Distance

It was a good day. After years of preparation Winter's plans were finally being set into motion. Her preparations hadn't gone to plan, but she had taken that into account with a few contingencies in place to right them if something went awry .

Her father had changed over the years. Unexpectedly he had begun to miss Weiss. It had been an oversight on her part to stop currying favor for herself and dissent towards her sister. She had thought there was no chance of the two reconciling.

She could have repaired that problem, but the short sighted fool was also going to work at ruining their company as well, bending under the weight of an upstart movement and the opinions of a few pitying faunus lovers.

She loved her father, but she loved her company more. It would survive him, and it would live on long after her own passing, a testament of the Schnee's greatness. Besides, it was for the greater good of humanity as a whole. A faunus's very inferiority made them useful, taking the jobs beneath even a lowborn human.

In the end his untimely death four days ago had allowed her to begin moving more freely. She was already arranging the board of directors, working on removing faunus sympathizers to be replaced with rational businessmen. Because of the need to make it look like natural causes she had to keep his death under wraps for an additional two days while she arranged the proper bribes.

Phoenix's fall had turned out to be the trickiest thanks to an unexpected ally. What was that councilman's angle? With his interests outside the walls he should be welcoming their destruction. Instead he'd captured and tortured her operative, removing the hook she was working on with Ruby's sister.

Regardless of how powerful and confident Winter was she knew standing toe to toe with him was a mistake and another assassination was impossible. She was already going to be under a lot of scrutiny for her father's death. Those watchful eyes would inevitably catch her if she used that tool too many times.

That meant she was going to have to be indirect. While trickier, subtle was something well within Winter's ability. She'd been doing it most of her life.

Blackmailing Ruby had been only a slightly smaller risk. If it was love between her and Weiss, and even Winter had to admit it was, pushing the twit to act against her wife was impossible even under pain of death. Moving to simply stand aside while Winter worked was equally impossible. What she had her do instead was going to be much more effective and the idiot wasn't going to see it coming.

If she had room in her heart she'd have pitied Ruby. Her only mistake was falling in love with her sister. Instead the happiness the two lovers had found only made Winter angry and wetted her need for revenge.

Touching the intercom at her desk she called her secretary. "Contact Opal and have her come to my office."

* * *

Her father had died two days ago. It should be tearing Weiss apart, but it wasn't. It did hurt. She loved her father despite his many faults. Despite being disowned and cast aside. Despite his every attempt to ruin their company with blind bigotry. Yes, she loved him, but it wasn't enough to leave her in the pits of despair a dutiful daughter should be.

She was mourning him for a second time. The first had been the day he'd disowned her. The first time she was destroyed, accepting a fate she had tried to deny her entire teenage life. The fate of being alone and unloved. She had mourned him then until Ruby intervened, giving her the gift of her love and support. The best gift she had ever been given, turning her fate into a false prophesy.

Maybe its because this was the second time that her father's death wasn't affecting her as badly. Maybe it was because of how busy she was forcing herself to be at Phoenix. Maybe, but it wasn't.

What it was is Ruby. Before Ruby had gotten her through the worst of her desolation with love. This time she was pulling her away with fear. She had become lost to Weiss, devoid of emotion for the last four days now. It was terrifying to know the center of your world was caving in before your eyes, the pieces falling through her fingers like sand as she tried to find a way to hold her together.

Five more days and Yang would be home. Weiss had hoped Ruby would be excited enough at that news to break the depression. How often did their times in Vale coincide like this? The call from Yang had only made the depression worse.

Something was wrong, very wrong, and her wife wasn't talking to her about it despite all of Weiss's attempts. It was distracting Weiss from helping Phoenix, and it was making her sleep cycles even more erratic than it would be normally under the pressure from her responsibilities.

Tonight Weiss was laying on their bed, trying to understand, alone. The bedroom was gorgeous, and spacious. The mattress was the most expensive they could get with silk sheets from Atlas that made her skin tingle at the touch with pleasure. She made sure the sheets were freshly washed, hoping to entice Ruby to try it out tonight.

Instead her wife was on the couch with a promise to come to bed later. "I'm not tired yet," she had said. Like very other night since they went furniture shopping she was stretched out on one of the recliners in the living room. If it was like very other night that is where she would be when Weiss woke up.

The usually chatty woman would only say a few words on the subject. Weiss could tell each word was the truth, but she could also tell she wasn't telling her everything. Not even remotely everything. In fact, it might as well have been nothing.

Was it her? Had Weiss waited too long for this vacation and pushed too hard to help the faunus outside the walls before then? It was the only thing that made sense.

 _Maybe she simply needs time and some space,_ Weiss thought to herself knowing, like her wife, sleep wasn't going to come to her that night. With that thought she resolved to give Ruby that space.

* * *

Leaning into the chair Ruby's eyes were glued to the brand new, ultra large, living room vid screen, yet not seeing it at all. Her thoughts, as they always were since Winter's visit, were obsessed with that night. They were running in circles, not finding any answer. This type of thinking was a normal phenomenon for the speedster when scared, except this time they wouldn't stop. even when asleep they continued in her dreams.

What was she going to do? Winter had her, but she wasn't using that information yet. After making it clear she could ruin Ruby's life the woman had simply walked out of the house without further word. She was going to use that evidence to blackmail Ruby. That was inevitable. Should she come clean with Weiss before that? If she waited could she find a way out?

Her life was forfeit for her wife's safety. Accepting that Ruby feared her heart would die when the truth came out, but it wasn't the cause of her torment. How hurt would Weiss be? Were her nightmares of seeing her wife disappear in the woods alone as likely as they made it seem? These were the thoughts that were slowly shredding her mind and heart, eating her alive from the inside.

Could she hope Winter wouldn't try forcing her to do something against her wife? Surely her sister-in-law knew Ruby wouldn't do it. Maybe it would be something else entirely. It had to be, but what it could be to a woman who literally had everything Ruby couldn't guess.

All Ruby needed to remember was the hate in Winter's eyes and she knew she was fooling herself. Though she always looked for the best in people Ruby couldn't help but think of those eyes as evil. Weiss had tried to mimic those eyes when she was younger. Ruby remembered the results from their first meeting. It was a poor attempt.

Weiss knew something was up of course. Ruby couldn't hide it, but she said as little as possible to minimize the risk of saying too much. She was an open book to her wife and even a small hint would be enough. Instead she'd gone quiet, unable to say more than a few words in her fear.

And her guilt, above all else, was why she was out here in their newly furnished living room. All she wanted to do was make her wife happy, but all she could do was bring her down, and at a time when Weiss needed her the most.

Her sister was going to be home soon. That would only make it worse, not better. Weiss at least wasn't pushing too hard, and she was away on her crusade to crush Whicker Mining. Yang was going to be on break between jobs with nothing to do. Patience and passive were not in her vocabulary. Eventually she'd get it out of Ruby.

Would a woman who slept around with the full approval of her boyfriend even understand the concept of cheating? What that feeling of betrayal must be like? Would she just laugh and say she was being silly?

She looked at her scroll and saw the list of missed calls from Blake yet again. Why hadn't she talked to her yet? Shouldn't she have been the first person, if anyone, to talk to? Wasn't the fear of incriminating Blake what was really slowing her hand at opening up to Weiss?

Was she avoiding Blake to avoid having to make a choice? Blake's take on this would decide her, she knew that. Either choice could leave her wife with two people she couldn't ever trust again, and the third still traveling all over Remnant. Weiss would be back to her fear of being alone. How could she allow that to ever happen? Of course she was avoiding it!

Though ultra-comfortable with the latest in ergonomic design Ruby shifted to find a better position on the recliner. Giving up she turned the vid screen off rather than continuing to stare at it. Her eyes hurt. The darkness helped.

 _I should go back to the bedroom,_ Ruby acknowledged glumly. _This is the worst time to leave Weiss alone._

That was the truth. Though holding up well Weiss was still left grieving for her father, and Ruby had done nothing to alleviate it, only adding to it instead. _I'm a horrible wife._

* * *

Weiss woke to an unexpected but welcome sight: her wife curled up on her side of the bed for the first time since they'd gotten it. Laying open next to her was a curious sight: a dictionary. Weiss remembered getting her that dictionary. It had only been last week on the same trip they'd chosen most of their furniture.

"Veranda?" Ruby had asked that day.

"No, I'm not letting you off that easy. If I tell you what it is you'll simply forget again. Look it up so it'll stick."

Blake had heard this routine before, but she was still smiling with amusement as it played out again. "Well, I could but, uh, it'll take time and we got a lot of shopping to do. So, um, why not just let it slide this time so we can get it all done?"

It wasn't just Blake who was amused. With a telling smile, Weiss said simply "where is it?"

Ruby couldn't help but look innocent, except when she was trying to, like right then. "Where's what?" She'd asked with feigned ignorance.

"Did you lose it already?"

Her wife was getting more flustered, her cheeks working on matching the color of her cloak, "Uh.."

Of course she had. She couldn't hold on to one for more than a couple of weeks it seemed. It had been infuriating back when they attended Beacon. Now it was endearing. "There's a book store around the corner," Weiss asserted. "I'll get you a new one. I swear you're such a dolt."

"Your dolt!" Ruby exclaimed happily.

Blake had started chuckling under her breath behind them, enjoying the show. Weiss was having a hard time not joining in the laughter as she struggled to maintain her stern expression. It wasn't convincing any more. Giving up she sighed. "Yes, my dolt. So, what number are we up too?"

How the feather-head could forget a book in under five minutes yet remember how many she had lost in five years had always puzzled her, but Ruby promptly replied "three-hundred and forty-six."

"You know, Phoenix should start selling dictionaries," Blake said with obvious mirth. "I think you two could keep us running for another hundred years by yourselves."

Shaking the memory free, but trying to hang on to its warmth, Weiss sat up in bed as she realized something was missing. No, it wasn't missing, it was right there on Ruby's nightstand. As had become a tradition with them Weiss had put the number corresponding with how many replacements on the upper right corner. There on the night stand was the latest, with "346" proudly displayed.

Looking quickly at the dictionary in Ruby's curled arms again, she realized it wasn't the same. It was older, much older, than the book she'd gotten last week. Otherwise it was almost identical, but the number was missing.

Normally an early riser, Ruby was in an unusually deep sleep, not stirring at all as Weis shifted her weight. _I wonder when she finally came to bed?_ Weiss wondered as she reached for the mystery book, plucking it from the curled arms. Her breath caught in her throat, choked off by emotion when she saw the inscription on the inside.

"Accoutrements is on page 282. Look it up dolt," it said in Weiss's handwriting.

 _I gave this to her eight years ago,_ she thought in wonder. Ruby had said she lost it and Weiss had believed her. Why hide it?

She was about to shake her wife awake to demand a reason when Ruby made that unnecessary. With the half coordinated actions of a still sleeping body Ruby reached out twice to find the missing book. When all it found was covers the signal went deeper into her sleeping conscious, pulling her free from her slumber.

Leaning back and watching, she enjoyed the sight of Ruby rapidly waking up, and captured her wife's eyes with an amused smirk and dangling the book Ruby had been searching for in front of her. "Can I help you find something?" Weiss asked archly, determined to get some answers and make Ruby as uncomfortable as possible in the process.

How Ruby had kept it a secret this long was beyond Weiss. It was obvious she was looking for a way out as Ruby looked at the book in her hands then at the matching dictionary on her nightstand and back. She might as well have said "Well, I guess I can't say it's the one she got me last week."

"Spill it already," Weiss said testily. Her lover was almost back to full consciousness. Ruby's ability to go from dead asleep to full consciousness was always something Weiss had been envious of.

Her confused speech patterns when completely off balance on the other hand she'd never been jealous of. "Well you see you got that as a gift in our second year. It wasn't long after we finished helping Jaune make Filo and Timo and Yang said Jaune needed the Accouterments to go with the pretty new weapons, and of course I didn't know what she'd just said and you got all annoyed with me like you did a lot of back then, still do in fact, and you obviously knew, which of course you did because you're way too wordy sometimes, but you wouldn't tell me. I don't think I told you, but I was already in love with you back then, but I wasn't even really sure myself at the time. I mean, girls aren't supposed to fall in love with girls I thought..."

Weiss sat back and listened to the rambling, fairly sure that Ruby hadn't realized how badly she was spiraling. In her frazzled state Ruby had let go of whatever was eating at her, at least for the moment, and Weiss was going to allow it to continue.

"...and I didn't," Ruby continued three minutes later. "I mean it was really gone, but all the dictionaries you got me afterwards were so wonderful. I think I was lying to myself that it just showed how much of a friend you were. It couldn't have been that you loved me too, I mean obviously it couldn't! Not that I could even frame the thoughts that well. I mean maybe it was more like I just wanted to believe you were my best friend and we'd always be that way, and each new dictionary proved it. Please believe I never lost any of them on purpose! That'd be such a betrayal of those warm fuzzy feeling I kept getting, but when we moved out of Beacon I found this one. I must have put it under my mattress for safe keeping, because it was still there and I cried so much when I found it remembering back then. I didn't want the new dictionaries to stop, so I kept this one hidden, but last night I couldn't sleep again and I needed something to remember when I was good enough for you that you'd do something so wonderful..."

 _"Hold it!"_ Weiss said with sudden heat, stopping the rambling Ruby instantly in mid-sentence. "Good enough for me?" She looked at Ruby with deadly seriousness. It wasn't the superior angry eyes of her youth. Those had never really been her eyes to start with. These were the intense fearful eyes of a lover. "Start talking."

* * *

 _Author's note_ _\- Special thanks to Robert Harrison for the suggestion about the Dictionary. As you can tell I loved it. I'll be backtracking both on this book and on Senior Year to add a few other references to this happening as a running gag._


	13. The Descent

After five days of travel, one day longer than planned, the tension between Coco and Velvet had not lessened in the least. It's pervasiveness had caused open animosity at times, including the fight that morning.

Coco was actively pissed and to the point of not caring if they fought. From her viewpoint Velvet was loyal to a fault normally, and that was turning into her undoing as she was feeling her loyalty split between Coco and Blake. She'd thought Velvet had accepted the change in loyalty her position in Phoenix had necessitated. Coco certainly had, and with no feelings of betrayal. She was happy for her friend and teammate to find something that was so dearly important to her, and to Remnant as a whole.

So the fact that Velvet hadn't, in fact, accepted that change in loyalty was aggravating. It was a betrayal to that trust Coco had given her. And if she had done it for a reason other than her loyalty to Coco it would be worse, much worse.

Velvet was doing her best to hide in Yokahashi's shadow, which wasn't hard with that man's monolithic size. Coco was glaring through him however like he wasn't there, and the faunus was curling in on herself like she could feel that gaze.

It was making everyone uncomfortable. That was unavoidable. The two trapped spectators were Hopeful that when JNPR was on board they could help buffer them and raise the spirits of everyone on the way back. Victory was good for the soul after all.

"Uh... we may have a problem," Fox announced from the cockpit.

Taking her eyes off of Velvet's hidden form, Coco headed to the front to understand what he could mean. Looking through the windshield she didn't see anything, so she looked down at the instruments instead, particularly the radar. "Shit."

Thinking for a second, she decided the immediate problem was uniquely suited to her. "Set us to hover and open the side hatch," she told Fox.

Nodding his understanding, both at the orders and at her unspoken plan, he pulled the bullhead to a full stop, then turned ninety degrees to place the hatch forward as he opened it. Stepping out Coco waited until she caught sight of them, then changed her purse into its massive Gatling gun form.

Seven nevermores flying together, let alone in formation, was an unusual sight to behold. Any other rescue craft would likely have gone down, either by its own preference or by force. This wasn't most rescue craft however. It was a craft with Coco who specialized in taking down large heavily armored targets at a distance. She squeezed off the trigger and sliced all seven down in a matter of seconds.

That threat wasn't what had caused the earlier exclamation. That there were that many nevermores meant the area must be crawling with grimm. That could be bad for JNPR who were stuck on the ground with them.

"Scan the ground, I want to know how many grimm are in the area," she said, walking back up front as the hatch was again closed.

Fox shook his head. "I already did. There's nothing down there but wildlife."

Now that didn't make any sense. "How far until we reach JNPR's position?"

"We'll be in radio range in about fifteen minutes," Fox supplied. "Radar range at about the same time.

She nodded one last time. "Let's move it. I don't like the smell of this at all."

* * *

Sitting cross-legged, back of his wrists on each knee, Ren struggled to find his center, and the sense of balance that came with it. Closing his eyes did nothing to block out the sounds around him. Once he found that inner peace the noise could be removed from his perceptions, along with any other physical sensation that could invade that peace.

He was ready to beg for that inner peace now.

Calm living, even when fighting, was almost a religion to him. It brought him joy, and he had trouble understanding those who actively worked to encourage it's antithesis: rage. Cardin, as an example, had made no sense to him their first three years at Beacon. Why disrupt everyone else's enjoyment? What could someone gain from that?

JNPR had seemed to be a place where he would never deal with such issues. They were strong together, each complimenting the other and finding harmony in the whole. Jaune and Pyrrha, in particular, had brought him a great measure of confidence in that stability.

Certainly Jaune's need to talk to him, a lot, could be distracting or uncomfortable, often both. Those talks, however, were Jaune's attempt to find answers to continue the cohesiveness of the team. For that reason alone Ren could accept those talks.

So when did this happen?

"Pyrrha, get up in the bird's nest until you're ready to talk, will you?" Jaune was yelling. _Yelling._ Loud enough that he was certain the grimm outside the walls could hear.

For her part Pyrrha wasn't saying much of anything. "Yes Jaune," was her only verbal soft reply, but the waves of conflicting emotions radiating from her were nearly as loud as Jaune's voice.

Very conflicted emotions. Depression was the largest one, and easy to pick out. Ren could understand that emotion. To watch the physical representation of your center crack and lash out at you would cause anyone to be depressed. The loss of his metaphysical center was threatening to do the same to him, and being intangible it was less necessary to maintain calm.

There was another emotion however. One she was trying her best to hide from everyone, especially Jaune, but with each verbal attack it was coming closer to the surface: Anger. Ren had more trouble understanding this emotion. It wasn't simply because she was feeling it. That was to be expected. Ren had ways of dealing with that emotion, his current attempt at mediation included. Pyrrha did to, and that was where the confusion lay. Why was she not simply talking to Jaune? The last shot from the current battle proved that was actively being looked for from her partner.

From her perch above Nora climbed out of the nest to give room for Pyrrha. She gave a single pat on Pyrrha's shoulder as they passed in sympathy and comfort. It was ignored, the warring emotions clearly both in agreement at rejecting it as no hesitancy was shown in shrugging it off.

That was the other troubling development: Pyrrha was isolating herself. She seemed most comfortable up there, taking everyone else's shifts until she was physically incapable to do so. Avoiding Jaune was becoming understandable, but why the rest of the team?

With the fight over, at least for the moment, Ren had some hope of being able to slip into a meditative state. Only some however. It was possible Jaune would come to speak with him and work through his problems. That it would be so personal this time would make it unusually awkward for Ren, but it wouldn't be the first time. Ren wondered how their leader could be oblivious to how awkward these little talks made him feel.

Either Jaune hadn't reached that point, or he had gone beyond that point, as he simply walked over to their artificial cave. That was good, at least for Ren. At last able to turn his attention fully inward, he reached the deep meditative state he had strived for.

Once every other aspect of reality was driven from his mind, he opened up one sense: the sixth sense that allowed him to feel the dust around him. Like their physical appearance dust radiated in many different colors to his mental sight. In this state their energies were as clear as the blue sky above.

For the first five hundred yards around him it was easy to pick out their energies. beyond that it became difficult more difficult, doubling every few feet. His vision was mildly obscured by the physical objects around him as well, but only mildly.

So far he had looked around them, finding only what he had found the first day they were here: traces of dust all around them on the ground. None of it was concentrated as far as he could tell. None of it was of a particular type or element either.

As an abandoned mining camp, there were of course mines below to check, but when he had looked there were fewer traces there than there was on the surface. Today he was checking underground again, but away from the quarry. Was there perhaps a source that had gone unnoticed when the facility was still in use?

He looked thirty feet down, and found nothing except the same traces of dust. Pushing harder, he looked another ten feet, and got no closer. Though sensing through solid matter didn't cause much trouble, it did make forty feet about his limit. So, he could accept there was nothing there and return to the emotionally raw environment he was entrenched in, or he could go the extra mile.

The extra mile it was then.

At fifty-five feet, a distance beyond his limit normally, he received the shock of his life. It was far enough beyond his limit he was almost ready to discount what he'd found. As he pulled his consciousness back to the physical world, he saw Nora's cute face inches from his. "So, did'ja find someth'n this time?" She asked playfully.

He felt a reaction headache coming on quickly, the consequence for pushing himself so hard. What he found was going to prove that coming pain an acceptable consequence.

Behind Nora, obviously still angry, Jaune sat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed in frustration as he leaned against the dilapidated structure supporting Pyrrha's blind. Above the slight sounds of sniffling could be heard.

That extra mile was looking really good right then.

Nodding once, Ren indicated where one of the mine shafts was with his eyes then got up. Smiling with relief Nora followed suit, ready to go to the mine he'd indicated.

"Hey boss man, we're heading out. Ren found something. We got our radios on if you need anything," Nora said in her chipper voice. Leaning forward towards the team leader, she continued to talk in a hushed tone he doubted Pyrrha would hear. He had no doubt that was intended. "Talk, and I mean _talk_ , to her before I kill you."

Ren blinked several times. That was not the cheerful voice he was used to from Nora. He'd only heard that dark voice from his friend a handful of times since they had met at childhood, and each time had indicated she was past her breaking point. Watching two of her best friends at each other for this long was putting her there.

Splitting the team up was a bad idea. Everyone knew that, or would if they were thinking straight. Jaune wasn't at that time with his brooding introspection, Nora wasn't with her own unexpected anger, and Pyrrha wasn't paying any attention at all, a state Ren never would have guessed was possible of her. For his part Ren thought he'd only be down there for a half hour at most. That was an acceptable risk if what he found was correct.

At least this way they were still in pairs. If something happened they could hold out until the other pair reached them. Even at their worst he doubted anything could defeat Jaune and Pyrrha quickly.

Pausing for a few minutes at the entrance to the mine, he looked over the map posted there to be sure he knew the correct route before moving on. As if nothing had happened before Nora had returned to humming happily as she followed in his wake.

Normally Ren didn't get into gossip or talking about his friends when they weren't there. Was this a good time to make an exception? He certainly needed to know what was going on. He was equally sure Nora could explain it in a way he understood, and doing it when the couple was near could cause their turmoil to increase.

Whether he was going to make that exception or not was a moot point. Nora made sure of that as she launched into a monologue. "Those two still love each other Ren, don't worry so much. They're just having a rough patch. Everyone does. When people don't appear to have one is when they are at their worst. Which I think is why I should be kicking myself for not seeing this coming. I mean, when's the last disagreement those two have had? I'm not sure how I didn't know something was wrong until it blew." Nora was starting to sound a bit peeved at herself as well as at the couple above them now.

"I think there's been some baggage those two haven't been working on, and more stuff has been getting piled on top of that baggage until no one could see it, especially them. And well, now it's all coming up and it's had time to fester and really stink."

That didn't really explain much, yet it did reassure him that this would pass. From a purely selfish perspective that was good. Contrary to what most said being selfish wasn't a bad thing. If you didn't take care of your own needs you inevitably would stop being able to help others with theirs.

It wasn't a bad thing, but in that view it was so he could be better able to help others, so the next question was only logical. "Can we help?" he asked simply.

"Not really. I mean, I can continue to give Pyrrha advice, but it's up to her if she's going to start talking to Jaune on what's going on. Jaune for his part needs to start being clear on his needs and wants, which really aren't all that unreasonable, without going into Neanderthal mode. I could try helping there, but I'm not sure he'd understand any better than I just put it to him now."

Showing more of the stress this had put the redhead under, Nora pinched the bridge of her nose while walking to alleviate an apparent headache. "I'm not going to play middle man for them. That may fix it short term, but I'm not signing on as their personal relationship councilor for the rest of my life. They need to learn to do it without me."

"So they just need to work on communicating?" That both did and didn't make sense. Those two communicated at a level beyond the mystical most times, yet every word Jaune yelled at Pyrrha was about her talking more.

"Oh, they communicate fine when it's something they want to talk about. It's the stuff they don't want to that became a problem."

Aaaah! Now that was the key point he had been missing.

The walls in the artificial cave system were well made. Any collapses that would have occurred happened a decade ago so beyond some treacherous footing there was little to worry about.

"Here," Ren said to indicate the end of the descent. Without ceremony he went into a sitting position and began dropping back into a meditative state. Though completely failing at being able to do so herself, Nora was well accustomed to Ren's routine and let him at it while she settled in for a quiet (And boring as far as she was concerned) time in the dark.

Looking first within, and then without, the shorter distance to his discovery made all the difference. "What's that doing there?" he whispered in awe as he came back to himself.

"That was quick!" Nora exclaimed with some of her good cheer returning.

Before he had a chance to explain their radio's came to life.

"Team JNPR, this is team CFVY, do you read?" came the welcome voice of CFVY's leader. The strain in her usually cool voice wasn't reassuring. The unwelcome sounds of her Gatling gun firing off immediately after was even less so.

That made it a combat situation, so Ren waited for Jaune's reply. "This is Jaune, Coco. Sit-rep?" He sounded calm at least. Maybe him and Pyrrha had finally talked? It didn't matter right then. Both Ren and Nora had started moving as quickly as the uneven ground would allow back to the surface the moment the sounds of combat had registered.

* * *

After the initial attack from the nevermores, the remaining trip had become nothing less than hellish. Every type of flying grimm Coco had ever seen, and quite a few she hadn't, were constantly attacking from every side. The trouble with this tactic is it meant no matter which way the bullhead was facing there was three sides that Coco couldn't strike down. Fox was taking down as many in front with the bullhead's armaments, and the rear hatch had dropped so Velvet could work on slowing down the grimm giving chase.

That left one side they couldn't effectively protect. It would be enough to bring them down. It was simply a matter of time. What had JNPR gotten themselves into?

"We're within radio range!" Fox said into her headset, the stress of the situation showing in his voice. "Patching you through now."

Without pause Coco established contact. "Team JNPR, this is team CFVY, do you read?"

There was only silence on the line for two heart beats, then "This is Jaune, Coco. Sit-rep?" came the voice she had prayed for.

"Fifteen minutes from your location. Under attack by grimm and we may not be able to repel them long enough to reach you. We will be coming in hot if we do. Any assistance is welcome."

"Roger that," Jaune confirmed. "You'll have all we can provide, but be aware we are currently pinned and unable to travel from our location."

That news was just peachy. Once again Coco asked herself, _what the hell have you gotten yourself into Jaune?"_


	14. Old Jesses

It had taken Alice time, but she finally had information on the envelope Blake had confiscated from her friend's mailbox. It didn't clear up all the questions. In fact, as always seemed to be the case, the answers they did get were only causing more questions.

Their source was not one of the questions that were answered, much to Blake's frustration. It wasn't from the Schnee Dust Company. In fact, the last envelope had specifically targeted an SDC facility. The number of faunus it portrayed as being there had been exact, and the condition of the living facilities, security, and working conditions were accurate.

They were, as of a year ago. If you compared those numbers with the numbers today you would get a totally different picture however.

The facility, #587C, had been a failing venture. The amount of dust produced from the mines was progressively shrinking with no new veins discovered in almost six months. They were scheduled to be closed down, the remaining labor returned to Vale for redeployment to other facilities, those willing to do so at least. That would have been a very small percentage normally.

Then seven months ago the facility had begun to change. Which exact pressure applied to SDC that caused the change was hard to say, but new money had been put into it, adding to the security of the facility and overall care of the labor.

Unexpectedly, at least to the company, the previously failing facility found three new veins that month, all of them large enough to keep it profitable for another year, at the very least.

Alice had backtracked on the reports Phoenix had gotten from Ruby and Weiss, removing any leads that Phoenix had given them, and looked at the ones they "happened to come across." Nine out of ten of them had a similar turn around until two weeks prior to the pair arriving. Then they simply stopped. No data could be found indicating what happened between those two weeks. By the time Ruby and Weiss arrived the facility was normally destroyed, apparently by grimm attacks.

What that could mean Blake didn't want to guess. Nothing good was obvious. That her friends were being massively manipulated by someone was severely pissing her off.

The worst part was of the nine that disappeared seven of them were SDC facilities. Whoever was doing this was purposely fueling Weiss's anger with false information.

Driving to the Rose's house, Blake stewed on what could be happening. She had tried calling Ruby yesterday after the meeting (and the distraction of a certain lion faunus) several times, but she hadn't picked up once. Blake continued to try that morning between meetings and helping Weiss and her wing leaders where she could. Weiss had said her wife was in a deep depression, suggesting that may be why she wasn't responding when Blake had questioned her.

Weiss's own depression was evident. Who could blame her? Whether she was disowned or not the loss of her father had to hurt, and then getting the insult of being barred from the funeral... It was cruel. In response Weiss had buried herself in her work. If she had her way Whicker Mining was going to be bankrupt when she was done. Even she wasn't that good, but the ferocity from her misplaced anger was the same.

Blake was playing hooky from her responsibilities this evening. Phoenix would survive without her there for the rest of the night, but the need to tell Ruby what she had found wasn't the driving force anymore, it was the real fear of something being wrong between them. Yesterday had not been the first time she had tried contacting her friend with no response. It had been that way since the day after she'd taken the envelope.

Had Ruby figured out Blake was the one who took the envelope and was angry about it? Good intentions or not Blake had invaded her privacy by taking it, but she didn't seriously think Ruby would be that sensitive for this kind of snub.

Was it that Blake had started monopolizing Weiss's time? The couple had so little down time between their forays into the forest. Maybe talking Weiss into helping had actually been a mistake? She knew the first time Blake had asked for Weiss's help back when they were in Beacon she had been worried about that, but that had been years ago and she thought the circumstances were different now.

She didn't know. It could be what Weiss had said: Ruby's depression. If that was all then Blake wanted to be there for her friend even more. A depressed Ruby was impossible to imagine. It meant she needed Blake's support. She needed her wife's as well. It added some validity to her fear that using Weiss was the problem. That Weiss was so intent on burying herself in that work though... Blake didn't know what to make of that.

Her thoughts were driving her hard to get to Ruby's house. Perhaps too hard, as she saw the flashing lights in her rearview mirror. Looking at her speedometer she noted she was doing five over the limit. It shouldn't be enough to get pulled over normally.

The key word was normally. This could go several ways, both good and bad. Being as the figurehead of the faunus movement she could be welcomed and let off with a warning, or she could be harassed and given even more contempt than a bigoted officer would give an unknown faunus. The outcome that would be the most reassuring would be fair treatment. A speeding ticket, oddly, was reassuring. It meant they were becoming equal in more people's views.

Pulling over slowly she stopped at the curb and waited for the officer. She consciously placed both hands on the steering wheel at ten and two in textbook style to be sure there was no confusion on if she was holding a weapon. The fact Gambol Shroud was in the car at all was possibly an issue if the officer somehow didn't know who she was until she showed her Emblem for identification.

She hated the feeling, but she was itching to have her bow on to hide her ears. It would take the guess work out of how this was going to go down. The fact she wanted that protection proved Phoenix had a long way to go still in their fight.

When the officer reached her door, he looked immediately at Blake's ears with narrowing eyes. It didn't add to Blake's confidence on her leaving with only a ticket. "License and registration," he said gruffly.

Reaching slowly towards the glove compartment for the requested documents, a new sense of panic hit when she realized it could look like she was reaching for the machinegun sitting on the passenger seat. At least it could look enough like it for a cop intent on causing trouble for a faunus.

Which this cop did.

Most cops would take a step away from the door at a perceived threat into a firing stance while drawing their weapon. It was textbook, and how they were trained. This officer didn't.

Whether he thought it was more intimidating, which was Blake's guess, or more effective was a matter of debate. The officer leaned into the car to get a better angle as the barrel of the gun was placed directly against her spine. It was a stupid move. It took on average between two to three seconds for a person's reflexes to act. Even if she hadn't been a huntress that would be enough time for Blake to counter and have the gun out of the officer's hands. Being a huntress meant she had at least two additional counter moves available after that which would leave him incapacitated.

She didn't do that however, pausing and moving her hands out slowly to either side to again make it clear she was unarmed and cooperative. "Out of the car slowly," he said with what was probably meant as menace. Cardin was more intimidating than this guy.

She obeyed; doing everything she could to appear docile. She suspected the only reason he hadn't tried to shoot her was because of the necessary investigation that would come after. She had enough lawyers to represent her that no matter what trumped up charge he came up with it could be defeated. She couldn't afford this looking like it was her fault in any way however. The head of Phoenix attacking a cop would be a great blow to her cause.

"I'm a huntress. By law we are permitted to carry our weapons. I had no intention of drawing her. I was reaching to get the paperwork you asked for," Blake explained calmly. That she was a huntress was general knowledge in Vale. Her face had been shown everywhere with Simon's PR engine. It was always best to be sure however.

The cop snorted. "Faunus shouldn't be allowed to be huntsmen, _Belladonna,_ " he said, making her name sound like a slur.

Well at least she knew he knew who she was. Now to see if that was a good thing or a bad. She didn't have much hope however.

"Now put your hands on your head," he continued.

She didn't like the sounds of this, but again didn't see any real choice in the matter. As expected the man put cuffs on her. His excuse was her extensive combat skills made her a risk. It was trumped up, but she dealt with it as best she could.

After the cuffs were secure he sniffed the air noticeably. "Have you been drinking?" he asked, nearly crowing with joy.

Well this just went from annoying to dangerous in a flash. She actually had had a few drinks before heading over. Nothing too bad of course, especially with the regenerative abilities of her aura, but it would affect a breathalyzer she figured.

Again, this was something her lawyers would get her out of in only a few hours. Simon, on the other hand, was going to have her skin as soon as his hands were free from the nightmare the press would be handing him.

A few minutes later her fears were proven true and she found herself in the back of the police car. She was sure he wrote down the wrong numbers. Even by huntress standards that blood alcohol level should have been enough to make walking difficult. Anyone without control of their Aura would be in the hospital with alcohol poisoning.

On the drive to the station she tried to recount how many glasses she'd had, and flinched realizing the numbers he had written were probably right.

* * *

Two hours, and one count of "resisting arrest" later Thompson picked her up from the station. The resisting arrest had happened at the precinct office, with plenty of witnesses to her "violent behavior." All of them had helped "pacify" her.

Even with aura it was going to take some time to mend her wounds. Aura didn't fix dental damage, so that was going to be a wonderful office visit she would rather have avoided. At least the internal damage had been kept to a minimum. A couple of broken ribs at most.

If she had resisted, truly resisted, she would have been able to walk out with the entire precinct unconscious. That would only have proven they were right in trying to take her down. This way, at least, they would have a harder time proving anything besides eye witness testimony that was automatically suspect.

She hadn't expected the men to start staging the scene, delivering blows to a couple of the officers, causing bruising that looked worse than they were to prove how dangerous she'd become. The entire event was going to be a nightmare when the media got a hold of it.

"So, how much did you really drink?" Thompson asked, sounding both worried and annoyed. Maybe even angry, which she admitted was justified.

She wouldn't lie to him. With embarrassment she answered "Just under a bottle of whiskey."

"A full bottle?"

She automatically got defensive. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Huntsmen have a good resistance to alcohol."

His voice moved from annoyance with hints of anger to full anger. "Don't tell me about resistance. I am ex-military, remember? I've worked with enough huntsmen to know how resistant you are. Even you had to have been feeling the effects."

That hurt. Partially because he was right, but mostly because of the disappointment beneath the anger of his voice. She never wanted to hear that again. "I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd drank that much. Half a bottle at most," she told him with true humility.

Her lover sighed. "Are you okay?" he asked gently, moving away from the subject. Unlike most humans he didn't just know what had happened. He _understood_ it. Nearly every Faunus in Vale would.

Blake rolled her right shoulder once experimentally, grimacing slightly at the pain it caused. "I've had worse."

"We've all had worse," he replied, glancing sideways and his eyes showed sympathy as he looked over the damage. "More than you can heal by yourself?" he asked.

Shaking her head in denial she replied "They had Gambol Shroud far enough away from me I couldn't keep them from hurting me, and it stunted my ability to heal afterwards. Now that I have her back it won't take long to heal most of it. Two days at most. I'm hoping Simon can use pictures of the superficial damage to counter whatever backlash this has."

"It'll be bad."

Sighing, Blake replied, "I know."


End file.
